An Arrangement
by chesxca
Summary: He didn't even know this girl but he felt for her, even under her veil he could see the shine in her eyes that meant she was holding back tears, she couldn't bring herself to make eye contact with him. She must hate him, he hated her for a long time, until he saw the same defeated look on her face that he had held on his own these past few months.
1. Chapter 1

I had terrible writers block while working on "Something New" so i started this story, this chapters super short but the other ones will be longer. And I can't make promises about how frequent the updates will be. But works slowing down so I'll have more type time.

* * *

For some reason she always hated the snow, from the way it froze her fingertips, to the way it turned her nose red when she was outside for too long. Maybe it was because when she had to walk through it, it came up as high as her knees so she chose to stay in doors this time of year. She was small for her age, and she could never seem to get herself warm enough in winter. She would end up fully dressed with a blanket around her shoulders and sitting near the fire all winter long, it was why she picked up reading. A book helped her pass the time on days it was too cold to go out, and the children of her kingdom loved story time with her every week. Many of them learned to read from her, she knew her kingdom was poor, and when she found out not many parents had the time or the money to school their children she took it upon herself to help. Now that would be over, would anyone take her place when she was gone? That was probably the hundredth thing she added to her list of things to worry about today. She had less than a year to get everything together, but all she had done today was stare out the window and mope.

Her younger sister Wendy was fast asleep in her bed, dawn was already approaching but Levy hadn't moved from this spot all day. Wendy brought her dinner to her room since she was worried about Levy skipping lunch. She didn't have much of an appetite today, how could she? Less than an hour after breakfast her brother summoned her to the throne room, and told her that it would be for the better. She didn't understand at first, Jellal wasn't usually cruel but he was short with her when she tried to object to his decision. Her brother rarely yelled at her, but the moment she started to whine he responded with. "It's already done, and you will do what you're told." He dismissed her immediately after, Laki had to guide her back to her room and she hadn't left since.

She forgot that most people found snow beautiful, for the first time since she was a child she saw the beauty in it. Most mornings she found it almost impossible to escape the warmth of her bed, she usually just ended up doing all of her work from under the covers, and she didn't have a lot of visitors so it wasn't a problem. When she absolutely had to get up, she would run to a warm bath and then have the same trouble leaving until the water turned cold. It stopped snowing hours ago,but she sat up all day and most of the night watching it blanket the town. The way it looked on the roofs of houses and on the branches of trees took her breathe away. The way it fell from the sky was something magical, she read in a book somewhere that each snowflake was unique. She spent hours as a kid trying to find two of them that looked the same, but her mother explained to her that snowflakes were a lot like people. From afar they were all pretty similar, but it wasn't until you get close enough did you see just how beautiful they really were.

If she wouldn't have spent the whole day crying, thinking about her mother would have made her start up again. She was too dehydrated for tears, and it didn't help that she skipped both lunch and only nibbled on dinner today. Wendy was so sweet, she knew Levy was upset but she didn't pry, she just sat there and read her favorite book to her while Levy sat in her window seat and cried. Wendy was so much like her mother, it made her sad. She died giving birth to Wendy and Wendy never got a chance to meet her, but she had her mothers soul. She really missed her mother, most days were bearable, having Wendy made her miss her a little less, but it wasn't the same. But a lot of times Levy just wished she could ask her mothers advice. She knew her mother wouldn't approve of her current behavior, at one point the cold air froze her tears to her lashes and she felt like she was being punished for crying. She still hadn't told Wendy what was wrong, she couldn't bring herself to tell her younger sister that she would be leaving her. Levy had only been seventeen a few months, and Wendy had just turned twelve, they recently lost their father a few years before and Jellal had taken the throne when he turned twenty-one. It had been a rough couple of years and Levy just felt like everything was falling apart for a while, but they always made it through.

They had another sister named Juvia who left two years ago, she ran away in the middle of the night, and Levy always wondered why. Did Jellal try to do the same thing to her? Like herself, did he tell Juvia that she was getting married to a stranger and there was nothing she could do about it? Levy just wished that Wendy would never have to suffer the same. Juvia would be nineteen now, she hoped her older sister was still alive and well. They searched for her the first year hoping to find her and bring her home. Levy prayed for a letter or a sign that she was alright but she had given up hope halfway through the second year. She didn't want to keep breaking Wendy's heart so they just didn't talk about her anymore. She hoped Juvia was somewhere happy and warm like Levy always wanted to be. Juvia was hard to miss, she had bright blue hair ,all of them did, and that was only something that was known of in the north. They were a small part of the bigger, richer Ice Kingdom, and in comparison her kingdom was a scrap of farmland.

Levy knew she could continue to sit in her room and be depressed about things, or she could try to take her mind off of it. She could have continued being angry at her brother, or sad about missing her mother. She could whine and cry about life not being fair, but she knew it all fell on death ears. She had ten months until her wedding, which meant she had ten months for the situation to change, if not this was going to be her last winter with snow, she needed to at least try and enjoy it. So she put on her warmest coat and went to play in the snow.


	2. Chapter 2

...Three months later...

For the last hour he had been staring at the ceiling, he memorized every swirl, nick ,scratch, and hole. His observation was out of boredom, and the fact there was no way in hell he could sleep through this storm with the way the waves were rocking the boat. He could hear other people running around outside his door, and footsteps on the deck above, but he wasn't feeling very social at the moment. His bunk mate was snoring below him, he envied the way the man could sleep through anything. If Gajeel could sleep actually, he wouldn't have to deal with how sick he felt. Not many people knew about the fact he got seasick, it wasn't something he liked to admit and the only two people who knew about his little problem was the captain of the ship, and his bunk mate below. His sickness just didn't stop at boats, it didn't matter if he was in a carriage, or on a horse or even a train. Anything that moved in that annoying violent jerking motion just made his stomach do flips, but boats were his least favorite way to travel.

Gajeel honestly would have rather walked home, he didn't care if it would have taken the better part of a month, anything to avoid the three days of hell that he just went through. It wasn't very often that he got sick enough to puke, but seventy-two hours of discomfort, plus the extra rocking of the storm was putting him on edge. He had been counting down the minutes until they docked, he still had another three hours until they were in the bay and then an hour after that to dock. The last time he checked he could just see the outline of the city through the fog, he couldn't wait to be on dry land again, he was going to kiss it. This whole trip had been bitter sweet, it was like his last hurrah. At midnight he turned twenty, he asked the captain to keep quiet about it, it was bad enough his mother would have some extravagant get together. He didn't feel like getting drinks shoved in his face all night too.

Gajeel knew he was privileged, there was no doubt about that, he was the oldest son of the Iron Kingdom, one of the most beautiful places in the world. He was heir to the throne, and next year on his twenty-first birthday he would become king. His family's Kingdom was the trading capital of the world, they were pretty much smack dab in the middle of everything. His country was known to have the fiercest warriors, the most beautiful women, and the strongest metals. There weren't many people dumb enough to get on the Iron Kingdoms bad side, and the people that did, were crushed easily. People always told him that he had the life that they dreamed about.

Gajeel grew up with the best tutors, the strictest instructors and the best food. All of his life he was shaped and polished into being a good king and there were a lot of things he was punished for, when others just got a slap on the wrist. The same people who told him how lucky he was, didn't realize the prison he had been stuck in all of his life. When he was a child he didn't want to be molded into a king, he wanted to play outside with his friends, but he was always stuck studying one thing or another and it made him a really shitty kid. He remembered being a snotty little brat when people would question him on his bad behavior and he would ask him if that was anyway to talk to their future king. He got teased about it now, but he was just as jealous of other people as they were of him. Even his brothers had more freedom, it was the curse of being the first born. As an adult he realized that he had a responsibility to his people to be the best King that he could, but most of the time he just thought about how fucked he really was.

* * *

"Gajeel if you want to sleep the day away, I suggest you go home and do it. I have things to do." Gajeel didn't even remember falling back to sleep, but when he cracked an eye open to look at whoever was talking to him the room was a whole lot brighter. "We docked over an hour ago, but i figured you could use a little more sleep before you returned to your princely duties." Gajeel rolled his eyes at the comment, but he appreciated the fact that Lily was always looking out for him. Panther Lily was one of the few people who bothered to get to know more about him than the fact he was a prince, most people either had an agenda and tried to get close to Gajeel to use him. Or they just assumed he was some stuck up brat and just didn't bother with him at all. Lily was one of the commanders of the kingdoms army, and when Gajeel's father passed away, Lily told him there was always an open door for him if he needed took a few years for Gajeel to reach out, but when he finally did a friendship formed. Even his mother noticed the difference when Gajeel started spending time with Lily, it wasn't rare that he decided to tag along on Lily's missions and trips, and he eventually became an unofficial part of Lily's team.

"Where's all my shit?" Gajeel was finally up enough to accept the coffee that was offered to him, his whole room was cleared out and he could tell his room mate was long gone by the way the whole room was spotless. He wasn't sure how Lily got his mother to agree to it, but he had spent the last six months traveling around with Lily. It was a breathe of fresh air, six months of just being some guy, after the first month the crew stopped treating him like he was made of glass, and he actually got along with his room mate Laxus. Coming home was bitter sweet, he was so restless to leave in the beginning and he wasn't exactly ready to come home. But the deal was that Gajeel had to be home before his birthday and Lily made it a point to stall as long as possible because they both knew this would be their last trip together for a while. There was an unspoken agreement that neither one of them would be telling his mother any details of what happened during their most recent trip, Gajeel had a few new scars he wouldn't be telling her about, and even though Lily promised that he would keep a close eye on Gajeel the minute they docked in another city Lily let him do whatever he wanted within reason. Gajeel wouldn't be telling his mother about his new piercing either.

"Laxus took care of it for you, he said you looked like you needed your beauty sleep. I told you he liked you." Some of Lily's crew were a little iffy when Gajeel started hanging around with them. But Laxus was one of the few people who didn't seem to care one way or the other. He pretty much treated everyone the same, if you were annoying he didn't want to be around you, if you were a slacker he would get in your ass, other than that he was pretty nonchalant. He even offered to room with Gajeel when he found out he would be tagging along, neither one of them wanted to be stuck with someone annoying, and both of them did their part so they never had any problems. Laxus had a group of followers that were always in his space, so that also meant they had been in Gajeel's space recently, he didn't mind them too much most of the time. But occasionally his sleep would be broken by one or more of them coming in to get Laxus.

"He ain't have to do that, I would have taken care of it." Gajeel knew he needed to quit stalling, Lily had a wife and a kid to get home to. A family he hadn't seen in six months, he didn't need to be standing here trying to convince Gajeel to go home. "Thanks Lil, you better not forget about me, and let me rot in the castle forever."

* * *

Gajeel was trying to lay low, he knew a way back into the castle without being seen, as much as he loved and missed his younger brothers he knew the minute he seen them they were going to want to fight to see which one of them were stronger. He was too tired to deal with that right away, so he was hoping that he could at least get in another nap before the twins or his younger brother Natsu caught wind that he was home. Not to mention he knew his mom had a hidden agenda, since the moment he turned fifteen his mother had been parading girls in and out of the Kingdom hoping that he would pick a bride, and Gajeel had been having a hell of a time getting rid of them. Gajeel had no interest in romance, he thought it was an outdated and stupid rule that you had to be married to be King, he was hoping by the time he took the throne they would have changed the rule, or at least made an exception for him. Since he had been gone so long he was sure his mom had every willing woman she could find lined up in a room somewhere just waiting for him to finally cave and chose someone.

What Gajeel wasn't expecting was his mother to be waiting for him in his room. "My baby boy! Look at you. My little mans all grown up." As much as he didn't want to admit it, he missed her the most. It was rare that he was affectionate, but he had no problem pulling his mom into a tight hug and telling her how much he loved her. When you lose one parent, you hold onto the other a little tighter, even with the way they rarely seen eye to eye, he knew she meant well. "It was twenty years ago that I held you in my arms for the first time. And its been twenty years that you've been trying to wiggle free." He couldn't help but smile at that, he knew he could be a pain in the ass, but the more she tried to cage him the more he wanted to be free and it was hard for them to find a middle ground sometime. The last time his mother held him like this it was right before she announced to him and his brother that she was pregnant.

Eight year old Gajeel was pissed, one younger sibling was bad enough. Natsu was a screaming banshee of a six year old, and chasing him around was hard enough. He almost fainted when she told him it was twins, the thought of two more brothers was bad enough, if they ended up being girls Gajeel would have ran away from home. Gajeel didn't have much trouble dealing with his brothers, he just had to make sure they didn't run around lifting skirts, peeking in windows and stealing underwear. He had to knock all three of them in the head from time to time, having sisters would have meant knocking the whole male gender upside the head. Probably some chicks too, and that would just be exhausting. "I know that you just got home, but I don't like to keep secrets. You're already the last one to know, and i don't want you to find out another way. I think you should sit down." Gajeel didn't like being told to sit down, that meant he was about to hear something he didn't want to, and the way his mom was still holding his hand meant that he was really about to be pissed off.

"Honey, I know that you've fought me tooth and nail about finding a bride." That was an understatement, Gajeel spent years running off every princess, duchess, and countess that darkened his doorway. His mother would introduce him to some stuck up, money hungry girl from time to time and he would just be unbearable the minute his mom turned his back on her. The last girl, what was her name? Jenny or something like that, he managed to knock her into a fountain when she was in her best gown. She looked like a wet cat, and the way her make-up ran down her face just made the whole thing so much funnier. Gajeel was just laughing too hard to help her out, so she just struggled on her own until a few of the guards came to her rescue. Good times. "Your engagement was announced in January, and your wedding will be in the fall."


	3. Chapter 3

"It's brats like you that keep me young." Gajeel rubbed the sore spot on the back his head that was just struck by the older man. He didn't understand how a man so old had such great stealth. This wasn't the first time he had been snuck up on like this , and he sure it wasn't last. Gajeel was just curious to how the geezer got up here in the first place. Gajeel had a hell of a time getting up here himself, and he was at least sixty years younger than him and the old man didn't even seem to break a sweat. "You're a hard man to find, disappearing for two days is one thing, but hiding at the highest point of the kingdom to throw a tantrum just proves that you're still just a brat.

Gajeel rolled his eyes "Then un-find me." Obviously He wasn't hard enough to find, he managed to ditch one of his many baby sitters they thought he didn't know about right before dinner on his first night back. He knew it was too risky to try to leave the castle, and hiding in plain sight wouldn't work because he stood out like a sore thumb even in commoners clothes. So he snuck to an unused part of the castle and and ended up climbing the tower just to see what was up here and decided even with all the dust and cobwebs it was a good place to be alone.

"I'm sure you're hungry by now, missing meals isn't good for a growing young man. but lucky for you I brought us lunch." He knew Makarov was just trying to butter him up, as much as Gajeel wanted to say he hadn't had an appetite since he got home, the food smelled too good to pass up though and it didn't take long for him to cave. The old man had been around since his dad was a brat, and was his grandfathers most trusted advisor, somehow he outlived both of them and if Gajeel didn't know any better he would say Makarov would outlive him too. He was probably one of the few people Gajeel didn't despise on the royal council, the old man had his back most of the time. But obviously this time that wasn't the case.

When an arranged marriage was brought up in the past Makarov shot it down immediately. Gajeel wondered what they hell could have happened in six months. He respected the old man, he was always reasonable even when he was giving him shit about something he still sided with Gajeel. His excuse was always that Gajeel needed to make his own mistakes and experience life for himself. "Do you plan on returning to real world anytime soon, or do you plan to pout until you're old and gray like me?"

"Whichever one gets me answers." Gajeel was trying not to be pissed, but Makarov was playing with him. When he asked Gajeel what he wanted to know the only thing Gajeel could say was "everything." He didn't give two shits about falling in love and having a family someday, he knew he made that perfectly clear. The fact they were trying to force his hand made him furious and he already knew he would do whatever it took to run off whatever bitch they talked into this asap.

"While I don't agree with the situation, I was greatly outnumbered on the matter. You had every opportunity to find yourself a bride and you ignored it. I understand that you're upset, and you think your mother is behind this. But my boy, it wasn't just her doing that led to this. It was matter how pretty his kingdom was a cage was still a cage, and he already spent a life time in it. "If looks could kill, I'd be in trouble." He knew Makarov laughed to try to lighten the mood, but Gajeel still felt like he was being made fun of and it pissed him off even more. "Since you're not saying anything I guess that means you can hear me out instead. Gajeel how old were you the first time I told you about this certain requirement?"

Gajeel had to think about it for a moment, but he was pretty pissed back then too. The twins were still pretty young, and Natsu was still pretty annoying and it was his father that broke the news to him the first time. "I was ten." He remembered telling his father "no fucking way" and "girls are gross" and his father made him scrub the floor with a toothbrush for talking back and using such shitty language.

"You've had ten years to find yourself a bride, and son, what have you done instead?" Gajeel didn't want to answer that, he knew he wasn't discreet about running off every girl they brought his way. "You thought if you rolled your eyes and stomped your feet enough we would make an exception for you. And that is your mothers fault, she's spoiled you to the point that you expect things to change the moment it inconveniences you." He had a strange definition of spoiled, The only thing his mothers done his whole life is try to control him, just like the council. What was the point of being a king when you still had people you had to answer to? There were so many expectations, things he had to learn and do just for a title that was supposed to be his birthright. Did they expect him to sell his soul next? He wouldn't put it past them, pressuring him to marry a dame he knew nothing about.

"I'm not here just to scold you, but to give you a choice. You can either go through with the marriage and we will proceed as planned. Or you can refuse the marriage and lose your throne in the process." Gajeel felt his stomach drop, choice his ass! That was a damn ultimatum and by the look on Makarov's face he knew it. "I tried to find you more time, but you've already had so many exceptions that the councils patience has run out. You have until sundown to give me your answer, and if you decide not to show up like you usually don't. I'll be sure to tell Natsu the good news. Me and you both know that'd he would marry even you if it meant he would be king."

* * *

Lily was restless, he could feel his leg bounce with every passing second and he didn't understand how the man across from him could be so calm. He was sure when he first heard the rumor, it couldn't have been true. Gajeel had been by his side the past six months and in that time he didn't mention an engagement once. Even if he was embarrassed about it Lily knew he would have eventually said something, even if it was just on accident, or in a drunken rant. And if Gajeel was half as angry as Lily thought he was he knew Gajeel would have never shut up about the matter. Lily's second thought was that maybe Gajeel met someone during their travels, maybe he told the girl to meet him here and just didn't mention anything to anyone about it. But even that seemed highly unlikely, when Gajeel did show the occasional interest in women, it wasn't for romantic reasons and he was usually over it long before he acted on things. Lily knew he would have noticed something like that, Gajeel coming home talking about someone else, his head in the clouds about some girl. Lily would have had a field day teasing him about it the minute he came to ask him for advice.

When Lily found out the whole thing had been arranged he had been angry. When he found out the arrangement was done behind Gajeel's back his emotions ranged from anger, to disgust, to sympathy for the young man and that's what brought him to Makarov's office in the first place. To speak on Gajeel's behalf, he knew that he was out of place, and Gajeel would have never asked him to. He knew his opinion on the subject didn't matter, but he felt like he had to at least try to do something and Makarov let him speak his peace and invited him to wait with him for Gajeel to give him an answer. The fact the sun was already setting made him restless, as hard as he watched Gajeel work over the years was this the thing that was finally going to break him? This was asking too much, and he wouldn't even blame him if he finally put his foot down and said enough was enough. "Do you think he's coming?"

Pantherlily couldn't help but be worried about his young friend, he asked Makarov if he could be the one to talk to him. He was disappointed to hear that Gajeel needed tough love and Lily's opinion on the subject was way too obvious to get the job done. He had been sitting in Makarov's office the past hour waiting for Gajeel to show up, he knew he was going to need moral support, even if he didn't know where he currently was. Makarov was just way too calm on the subject, as stubborn as Gajeel was it just seemed stupid to give him an ultimatum like that and think he would actually show up. "I thought you knew Gajeel better than that." The whole situation made him sick, Gajeel was still a child in his eyes and he was supposed to make a decision that affected the rest of his life like this. And apparently the other half of this arrangement was even younger than Gajeel was, she was just supposed to uproot her life and move halfway across the world to live with a bunch of people who were strangers. This tradition was not only outdated, it was barbaric and half of him hoped Gajeel didn't show up. Lily hoped that everyone was bluffing, he would be relieved the whole thing was a big joke and Gajeel would be free to live his life. "Our young prince is stubborn not stupid, he's going to wait until the last minute and then grace us with his presence." Lily wasn't an expert on politics, he was a soldier so he was used to doing what he was told. Even though he made it farther up the ranks through the years, he still had someone to answer to. "He's just like his father, he likes to make an entrance."

* * *

Gajeel was deciding to ignore the snide remark that just came out of Makarov's mouth, his wet hair leaving a trail behind him was revenge enough. He had been outside of his door a while now, not purposely eavesdropping on the other side of the door. But trying to think of any way possible to get himself out of this situation. He would have been here earlier, he didn't mean to make him wait all day for an answer. But when Gajeel finally made his way back to the main part of the castle he realized that he didn't smell the greatest. His baths and showers were already an extended affair because of the length of his hair alone, the fact he sat in the tub until the water was cold was due to the fact he couldn't stop thinking about how he was being forced to make a decision that was going to affect the rest of his life. Would he be happier if he gave it all up? Would he happier as a soldier instead of a king? To travel the world full time? To only worry about whatever current mission he was on and taking care of himself. The grass always seemed greener on the other side, but he heard from Laxus and lily just how shitty a life that could be. They were never home with their families and Gajeel couldn't say that the thought bothered him too much. But he would always be known as a quitter then, a man who abandoned his throne.

He had no doubt Natsu would thrive as a king. He was a social butterfly, he was pretty destructive but he meant well enough. It wouldn't be that hard to find him a wife either, he already two girls hanging on his every word. He was completely oblivious to it, but Gajeel was sure the two girls would fight to the death just to be his brothers wife. But as miserable as Gajeel already was, how would his brother feel being thrown into the role? To have to play catch up, to have to do in four years what Gajee'ls done in almost twelve. He wasn't sure one decision would be less selfish than the other, but he knew there would be no take backs on whatever choice he did make.

Gajeel could feel eyes on him, he didn't even make eye contact with either man currently sitting in the office, he knew why they were there. Gajeel already had enough lectures for one day, and he really wasn't in the mood to talk about his feelings. He was pissed, he was trying his best to hide it, but he knew it was radiating off of him in waves. There were two contracts on the table and to him both of them were bullshit, he was mostly pretending to read them to stall, he already knew he was getting fucked no matter what choice he made. If he could he would rip them both up like he wanted to, take a note from Natsu and set them on fire while he was it it. Instead he had to make this impossible decision, Gajeel never wanted to be seen as weak, so he did his best to stop his hand from shaking when he finally picked up a pen. It felt like every stroke of ink to spell out his name took a life time and by the time he made it to the x of his last name an eternity had passed. He did his best to keep his expression bored, no one needed to know how he felt about this. His trust was broken enough as it was, he wasn't going to set himself up to let it happen again.


	4. Chapter 4

Wake up. Go to school. Homework. Sleep.

For the last couple months she had been living the same day over and over again. And for the last couple months every day had been the worse day of her life. She wasn't going to cry, she was stronger than that, but her mother had been questioning her mood a lot more lately, so she made it a point to leave for school before she woke up. It's not like she had a bad life, she knew there were a lot of people worse off than her, but she couldn't help but feel numb after doing the same thing everything with nothing to look forward to. She always ate her breakfast alone in the park, just because she was depressed didn't mean that she was starving herself on top of it. If was always empty this early in the morning, and her home always seemed to have the same perfect weather. She had lived here her whole life, that didn't stop people from staring though. She couldn't really blame them, the cat ears, the tail, the pointed teeth. They weren't exactly common, people didn't usually notice her claws. Well until someone touched her ears or her tail.

She was an only child, well she used to be, before her parents decided to take in three orphans from their home country. She was born in the iron kingdom just like a lot of kids, but that didn't change the fact she was still a foreigner here. Both of her parents were born in a place called Extalia, an island that was destroyed by a volcano a few years ago. An island full of cat people, she heard a rumor that her people could sprout wings. She thought it was ridiculous. What did a cat person need with wings? People already thought she was a freak, and there was a good amount of perverts that had a fetish for an appearance like hers. That's probably why her mother was so popular.

She would be lying if everything didn't change when her father left for a month and came home with three new children. She would also be lying if she said she didn't wonder if she would have fit in better in her home land. But there was no point in wasting your time thinking about something that would never happen. She had to share her parents now, she couldn't change that. She was always placed on the back burner now, and she couldn't change that either. She knew it was selfish to think like that, She tried to understand, she was the oldest, she was still only an eleven year old girl. Well twelve now. Since today was her birthday, it's not like anyone would remember though. Her mother always had her hands so full with the others. The last couple years she remembered after the fact, usually by the end of the day or the next morning but it was too late at that point. And on the rare occasion her father was home. He was still too busy to give her the time of day."Charla! I wish for once you would actually pay attention in class. Your grades would be better if you did." She hated school more than home, but it was a much needed distraction. At least at home she was ignored, here she was always the center of attention.

"Yes ma'am" She hated this teacher, she had the best grades in the class and she still found any reason to single her out at least once a day. Charla was sure that it was because if her race, her teacher was born in the south, And she heard from her father that Extalia was often at war with neighboring countries. Charla tried not to take it personal, but she was sure that her teacher just didn't like her. She tried to ignore the giggles of her classmates, but it was just another reminder that she didn't have many friends. Charla was daydreaming again , she didn't care that it annoyed her teacher, she had no real reason to pay attention to her when she already knew the material. She couldn't help but have a little bit of wanderlust when she heard stories about where her fathers been, and everyday life being so dull.

She looked up when she heard the whole class gasp, it wasn't often anything exciting happened around here. So when it did Charla had to be sure not to miss it. It was the first time she had ever seen her teacher giddy. Her face was flushed and she was tripping over the words trying to ask the messenger who the flowers were from. It was hard to believe that her teacher had a secret admirer or a lover. She was so unpleasant all of the time it was hard to imagine her any other way. Charla was already bored again, she didn't care that her teacher was getting flowers, and what kind person buys a girl white roses. Wait... White? The roses were white? Damn... Her teacher was really about to hate her now.

"I'm looking for a miss Charla Rae?" She raised her hand hesitantly, she could already feel all the eyes in the room on her at the moment. She tried to ignore the fact her teacher was giving her one of the dirtiest looks she had ever seen in her life, but a part of her was glad that her teacher was probably going to go home and cry about the fact someone had sent her least favorite student twelve dozen roses and she was a forty year old single woman. Charla walked to the front of the class to pick up her bouquet and made it a point to put on her best smile and push the roses up to her nose. She was glad that he used her actual name and not the stupid nickname he always called her. If anyone else had the nerve to call her "cat girl" to her face she would probably kill them, but he got a free pass because she knew it was a sign of affection. "Miss Rae?" She was a little annoyed, she was sure this guy was about to ask her for a tip. "Where would you like the rest of them?"

"Rest of them?"

* * *

Charla knew she shouldn't have asked, she should have just said she didn't care and went about her business. This idiot didn't exactly know what subtlety was, and he never did anything half assed. But twelve thousand roses was absolutely ridiculous, she was sure every girl in the school was hating her right now, her principal was very excited for her. The line of delivery boys ended up packing them all in the lunch room and Charla said it was okay for everyone to take whatever they wanted. This was more flowers than she would ever need, and she was sure there was going to be a rose shortage in the kingdom for a while. All because a certain idiot had to prove a point, the dumb ass couldn't even show up himself, he just sent her a bunch of flowers like that was going to make her forgive the fact she hadn't even heard from him since he got home. She was going to give him a piece of her mind, if he didn't come see her on her birthday she would never forgive him.

As if it was on cue she heard the music start, and everyone in her class ran to the window to see just what was going on. "Prince Gajeel is outside!" You would think it would be one of the students jumping around and crying about that fact. He was pretty popular, half the girls in the school had a crush on one or more of the princes and of course all of the boys wanted to be them. Especially Gajeel, her principal was the one jumping around and laughing at the fact he was outside singing. But Charla was the one being serenaded and she was more embarrassed than anything. She grabbed her things and made her way downstairs, there was no way she was going to get anything done in school today, she would be too much of a distraction, and she didn't want a million people asking her how she personally knew Prince Gajeel. Not to mention she wanted to avoid all of the people suddenly wanting to be her friend just to get close to him.

"Hey there cat girl, so what do you think?" She tried to give him a dirty look but she couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous he was, it was barely nine in the morning and here he was in a white suit with guitar in hand singing her happy birthday. She knew he didn't care that he just disrupted a whole school day, or that he probably cleaned out every flower shop in the kingdom. She couldn't help but laugh, she missed Gajeel so much these past couple months that she couldn't really stay mad at him now that he was here. "Remember, you told me to Disney Princess the shit out of ya for your birthday." He pulled her hand to his lips, making her roll her eyes. He was really hamming it up and the screams coming from the school behind her let her know that she had just made an enemy out of half of the people in her school. "And it ain't complete unless you dance with me brat." Gajeel exaggerated his bow, she knew he hated dancing, all the balls he was forced to attend over the years helped with that. But it also made him excellent at it with years of practice.

He waltz her around the schools courtyard easily, she couldn't even count the number of times she had danced with Gajeel before. He was really tall, but still not as tall as her father. For anyone else her height, dancing with Gajeel would probably be a pain, but she had been dancing with him before she could even walk on her own. For the longest time she would just step on his feet and he would twirl her around the room, and before that he would just pick her up and do the same thing. "You are so incredibly embarrassing." By the way he laughed she knew he did it on purpose, where she felt invisible at home she could always count on Gajeel to go out of his way to make her feel special. Even if that meant embarrassing her to the point she wanted to throttle him. "You know I was kidding when I told you to Disney Princess me... But thank you Gajeel."

* * *

"Lily's gonna be pissed that I pulled you out of school, you know that right." She knew he was right, her dad was a stickler when it came to that sort of thing. But its not actually like anything was going to be taught after the spectacle Gajeel pulled. Charla didn't always get excited about things, but when Gajeel offered to take her to her favorite bakery on the other side of the kingdom she jumped at the chance. It wasn't every where that they made chocolate cake like this, and even though he wasn't big on sweets himself Gajeel was on his third cupcake already. "And don't tell your parents I gave you sweets, your mom will kick my ass if she knew I was letting you eat like that. Charla rolled her eyes, she wasn't an idiot. She wasn't going to willingly tell on herself for skipping school and spending the day eating her weight in cupcakes.

As much fun as she was having, and how thankful she was to have a little excitement in her life, she just couldn't ignore the elephant in the room any longer. She looked around the bakery, it was surprisingly empty and she was curious if Gajeel rented it out for the time being. Even the clerk was in the back and Gajeel seemed pretty distracted but she wasn't entirely sure it wasn't because he scarfed a fourth cupcake. "So you're getting married... Are you trying to practice being romantic on me or something? Usually you make me a figurine and ruffle my hair and tell me I'm your favorite brat. This year was insane, not that I don't appreciate the gesture." She knew she hit a nerve with him, but she couldn't just keep quiet. She over heard her parents talking about it, and she was wondering why no one was really talking about it yet. She watched him close his eyes and take a deep breathe, but the way his jaw clenched he was anything but calm.

"Can we not talk about that right now. I know I'm a dick for not seeing you sooner, but a lot of shits been going on. I know that I'm a shitty friend, and I wanted to make it up to you." Gajeel rarely apologized, and he couldn't seem to look her in the eye when he did it. Her father got home over two weeks ago, and she hadn't even seen a single sign of Gajeel. It was true her feelings were hurt, but when she heard about his engagement she wasn't sure what to think about his absence. "Plus I know you're probably super pissed that I can't keep my promise about making you Mrs. Redfox." If her cake wasn't so delicious she would have chucked it at him, she should have known that Gajeel couldn't be serious more than a minute.

She could feel her cheeks heat up, he was never going to let that go. "I was a kid when you made that promise! I wouldn't want to marry you anyway. I don't wan't to be stuck taking care of an old man like you!" When she was four she told Gajeel that she wanted to be a real princess so he was going to have to marry her and buy her one of everything.

"Ouch! Kitty, I think you just broke my heart." He grabbed at his chest and tried to hide his smile, the two them could insult each other all day and find it funny. Her father always blamed Gajeel for some of the rude comments that would come out of her mouth. "Plus your still a kid, you're already growing up too fast for me. One day you're gonna come home with a fucking boyfriend, who I'm going to kill by the way. But you were just a little shit hugging my ankles, and now you're a brat that tells me to go fuck myself and you ain't gonna be a brat much longer. I just wasn't ready for it, this whole wedding things got me all fucked up. Can we skip this whole talking about our feelings thing and go back to stuffing our faces before your old man figures out where we are."

"Give me one of your cupcakes and I'll consider it."


	5. Chapter 5

"You Liiiike her!" Gajeel knew he shouldn't have come here, it wasn't that hard to ignore the brat, but the attention he was bringing to hit was starting to get annoying. He didn't know why his brother Natsu let the little blue haired twerp hang around him every where he went, but he was starting to drive Gajeel up the fucking wall. Gajeel kind of wished that Charla was here, that kid had the hots for her, and she would have made him shut up ten minutes ago. Gajeel didn't know too much about Happy, he was one of the brats Lily and his wife took in a few years ago and he spent all his time following his brother around like a lost puppy... Well, Cat. He had a shocking set of blue ears on top of his head that matched his hair perfectly, he was about a year younger than Charla but he wasn't even half as mature as her. He tried to play sweet and innocent a lot of the time and it made women turn to putty in his hands, how else did he get away with constantly sneaking in the women's only bath with no repercussions? Gajeel didn't usually take the time to get to know people all that well in the first place, but he knew enough about Happy to know that he was purposely trying to ruffle his feathers. Happy was always doing this sort of thing to Natsu and his friends, there was always some sort of embarrassing reaction that just confirmed whatever the brat said was true. But this wasn't one of those cases, Gajeel had a sinking feeling that somebody put him up to it. He was sure there was a rumor about his love life going around already, Gajeel just refused to acknowledge it. It wasn't anybodies business, and if they wanted to know so bad, they could stop being a pansy and ask him. "I can't believe Gajeel got a giiiiiirlfriend!"

Gajeel felt his eye twitch, the kid was really trying and succeeding to drive him insane, Happy was running around trying to hide his giggles, at least the kid was smart enough to stay out of his reach. Gajeel could feel eyes on him with every taunt from the annoying blue cat, but whenever he looked up everyone would pretend that they weren't watching him. He knew if he didn't nip this in the butt, more rumors were going to fly and they were going to get more creative by the second. He guessed now was a good a time as ever to pull off the fucking band-aid. He just wanted to enjoy his drink, he new it was a mistake coming to this bar, but makarov wanted to speak to him and it would be killing two birds with one stone to come to the bar he owned. Happy's chants about being in love weren't going to get any less annoying, and he knew if he didn't at least address the allegations he was never going to shut the fuck up. When the little brat made eye contact with him, he could tell something else annoying was on the tip of his tongue but with the look Gajeel was giving him made his words get caught in his throat. His tail puffed up and his ears flattened down before he decided to hide behind Natsu. "Hey blue cat, I ain't got a girlfriend. I have a Fiance."

Gajeel was already annoyed, but the fact that the once empty table was now filled by his brother and his friends let him know that they wouldn't be letting it go. Natsu looked like he wanted to say something, but he got cut off by the Lucy girl that spent all her time with him. "So its true Gajeel? You're getting married? He didn't know why chicks went crazy over stuff like that, she had hearts in her eyes and a dreamy look on her face that Gajeel could only describe as creepy. "When can we meet her? What's she like? Can I be a bridesmaid?" Gajeel couldn't keep up with all the shit coming out of her mouth so he just shrugged his shoulders and went back to his drink. The chick that took a seat next to him was a girl named Erza, she was a general in the army and a decorated war hero, a lot of people called her Titania. She was the youngest general in history and the fact she was a woman and managed that feat was even more impressive. In all honesty she was kind of scary but they had worked together the past couple months, so they had a mutual respect for each other.

"Congratulations Gajeel, its quite surprising but I'm very happy for you." At least she wasn't going nuts like that Lucy girl was, the only other person he really talked about it with was Lily, but he shut down that conversation before it started. Same thing with Charla, he just told her that he didn't really have a choice in the matter so it didn't really matter. It was happening and that was that. "Gajeel what kind of cake will you be serving at your wedding? Will there be any strawberry?" Oh now she was excited, Erza had that same dreamy look in her eyes that Lucy did when there was a mention of cake. Apparently that was her thing, he had seen her knock the shit out of someone for knocking a piece one time during dinner and he made a mental note not to get in-between Titania and her cake.

Where the hell was Makarov when you needed him? He couldn't wait to away from this conversation, he didn't know shit about the wedding, or the girl for that matter, he didn't even remember what her name was. He just knew it was weird. His mother was already working on the details for the wedding, and she wouldn't stop asking him stupid questions like what kind of white he preferred. He didn't think anyone knew the difference between egg-white, and ivory, and he honestly didn't care. All he was going to do is how up, and if he was brushing his hair was till up for debate. "I can't believe some poor girl agreed to marry your dumb ass."

"What was that Salamander? It sounded like you wanted your ass kicked." Gajeel had been itching to kick someone's ass lately, and he hadn't even had a chance to give his brother a proper beating since he had been home. He didn't really care about the insult his brother threw out, but he was going to take the opportunity to kick his ass and blow off some steam. Natsu was about to get a hell of a reminder of who the big brother was, right upside his head. They were both on their feet, practically nose to nose throwing out insults. Gajeel had Natsu by the front of his shirt, and he could tell that Natsu was about two seconds from jumping over the table. There was supposed to be a no fighting rule in the bar called Fairy Tail, but Gajeel had personally destroyed every piece of furniture in here at least once during a brawl. He knew as soon as him and Natsu started going at it, the rest of the bar would join, and Makarov would be slapping them all upside the head.

"Natsu! Knock it off, I want to hear more about Gajeel's fiance! You two can fight later." Wasn't Erza supposed to be the scary one? Lucy pulled Natsu back into his seat and gave him a look that told him he better behave, and Gajeel resisted the urge to make a whipping motion with his hand when his brother started pouting but stayed in his seat. "So Gajeel do we know her? Where's she from? Can we at least know her name." The poor blue cat was getting squished in between the table and the blondes rack when she leaned closer to him with every question."

Gajeel didn't know why he found himself answering her questions, but he decided to. Maybe getting it off his chest a little would make him feel better. He didn't know, but he was real careful about how he worded things. "She's some Princess from the Ice Kingdom." Gajeel didn't want to admit that he personally hadn't met her yet, but it was pretty obvious since he named a place that was on the other side of the world. "She's got a weird name, some shit I can't pronounce that starts with an L." Gajeel was suddenly wishing his mug would fill itself again, he could feel all eyes on him and he could tell that they were all processing the situation differently.

Natsu was the first to speak up, he kind of wished it was another insult so he could escape this conversation and punch him in the face, but it ended up being something he wasn't expecting. "Hey Erza? Aren't you from the Ice Kingdom? Do you think you know the girl he's talking about." Erza seemed to be in a daze but she nodded, she seemed to still be taking and processing the new information. If Erza knew this chick should he bother asking about her, he didn't even know that she was from somewhere on the other side of the world. Come to think of it he didn't know shit about Erza besides the fact that she was a hell of a fighter.

"We grew up together, we were friends...She's..."

"Lady Leverette"

* * *

"Lady Leverette."

Levy looked up from her book, from where she was sitting on the worn out over-sized couch she couldn't see who was calling her name. Lunch was an hour ago and dinner wasn't until later in the evening she was wondering why she was being summoned. It had to be by one of the newer guards, they were the only ones who bothered being overly formal and calling her by her full name. "Levy" was just fine, and she preferred it, she knew her name was a mouthful even for those fluent in French, and if you weren't familiar with the language it was very difficult to say, not to mention Leverette was technically a boys name. She marked her place in the book and made her way to the front door she was sure the guard was waiting at, it was frowned upon to be alone in a room with a man you weren't married to, so it was rare that guards ever stepped over the threshold. She put on her best smile, she had gotten a lot better at faking it lately, or people just decided to stop asking her what was wrong.

She wouldn't say she was depressed, it was such a hopeless word, right now she was a little bit sad and a lot a bit worried about the future and it was keeping her up at night. Because she was up all night she usually looked tired, but it was easy to just blame it on reading too much, but that excuse seemed to be getting a little bit old since she had been using it daily for the past four months. She tried to sleep though, she always laid down at a decent time and tried to close her eyes. But after an hour of so of tossing and turning she would get up and find something to read, sometimes she would stay up and read all night. Her sister would find her slumped over a book in the morning and ask her if she stayed up all night again. The dark circles that formed under her eyes was evidence of how messed up her current sleep cycle actually was. She often looked tired, she would yawn throughout the day and whenever she looked in the mirror she noticed that she was just a shell of her former self. But if you asked her, no. Levy was not depressed.

"Hello Sir Rufus, what can I do for you?" Rufus was a pretty new knight, he had only graduated from his training the year before and had been working inside the castle the past few months. He was a tall man, with long blonde hair down his back. Levy had to admit that he was a very handsome young man, many women in the castle had their eye on him but he never seemed to notice. He was always calm, and greeted her with a warm smile. He wasn't like a lot of the other guards in the castle, he was always so formal and you could tell he was the type of person who took his job seriously. Most of the other guards were a lot more friendly when her brother wasn't around. Jellal could be very strict a lot of the time, especially when it came to her and her sister. But when he wasn't around she wasn't Lady Leverette, she was just Levy.

"Lord Jellal is meeting the ambassadors from the Iron Kingdom soon, and he would like for you and Miss Gwendolyn to accompany him. I brought you your coat."


	6. Chapter 6

It never failed, Levy was always the last to arrive to these sort of things. When she was informed ahead of time that her presence would be needed she tried to be on time, but it was just so easy to get caught up in a book. It wasn't her fault that the guards always had a hard time finding her, if they checked the library first it would save them a lot of time and energy, but they always insisted on checking her room that was on the whole other side of the castle, and the few guards smart enough to check the library right away never searched hard enough. Some of the books were pretty hard to get to, especially in a gown. Her height didn't help the situation either, so once she finally found what she was looking for and was back on the ground safe she would just find the nearest corner and curl up in it. She knew it was a running joke between the guards, that they even had bets on how long it would take to find her. She didn't mean to make things difficult, unfortunately that's what happened when you had your head was in the clouds. A lot of the time her younger sister Wendy would come find her, if they weren't already together. But she was usually studying plants in the garden this time of day, and that too was on the opposite side of the castle from the library.

Levy tried to recall her brother telling her about the arrival of the Iron Kingdoms Ambassadors today, she knew she wouldn't have forgotten something so important, she was pretty positive that Jellal just neglected to tell her. To say their relationship had been strained lately would be an understatement, but she wouldn't have purposely sabotaged this meeting to spite him. She knew her brother simply didn't care how she felt about the situation, and even if she had a say in the first place he wouldn't have listened to her. Being born a woman in this country was a curse, she knew it was worse in the other Kingdoms and there were people a lot less fortunate than her. But her feelings were hurt, and she was avoiding him because of it. She knew it was stupid to feel betrayed, to think she would be an exception to the rule. It was pretty much common knowledge on this side of the world that as a woman you would always belong to someone, first to your father, then to your husband. In her case she belonged to her brother, never in her life had she felt like someone's property, until now. The last thing she wanted to do is make things worse by making a scene about it. It would be pointless to do so. All she would accomplish would be making things tense around the castle, and that's not how she wanted to spend the rest of her time in her childhood home. Either way she would be getting married in the fall.

It wasn't until she was well past the common room did she realize that her appearance was less than presentable for a princess, especially a princess that was supposed to be making a good first impression. She really did need to pull her head out of the clouds and back down to earth, there was a time and a place for that sort of thing and right now just wasn't it. "Sir Rufus?! Levy watched as he spun on his heels, his hand immediately went to his blade and he seemed to have a worried look on his face like she was about to point out some invisible foe he had yet to see. He lowered his hand when he realized that there was no immediate threat in the area. "Can you do a favor me? Please?" He seemed confused by her request, mostly because it was his job to do anything she asked as long as it was reasonable. Levy knew it was a rule, but she still preferred to ask the guards got their help rather than ordering them around. Rufus bowed to her and responded with his usual answer.

"Anything for you M'lady."

Levy was trying her best to act like she wasn't out of breathe when she climbed into the carriage next to her sister and across from her brother, she ended up running most of the way here, and she didn't want to show it. She would have been here sooner if it wasn't for the fact she completely neglected to even think about running a brush through her wild hair this morning. She ended up rolling out of bed this morning and putting on the first dress she saw, she went straight to the library with toast in her mouth and that's where she had been since. Levy was lucky her brother sent Rufus to escort her this morning, he had hair longer than hers. It only took him a few minutes to tame her hair enough to pull it back into a simple bun. He seemed embarrassed by her request, but he obliged without a complaint. Rufus was a relatively polite man, so when she asked him how she looked she wasn't surprised when he responded with, "As beautiful as ever." She didn't let the complement go to her head though, he was supposed to say that.

* * *

Charla couldn't help but feel like this whole trip was just one big punishment. The excitement on going on her adventure died down the minute she realized that she wouldn't be sharing a room with him. Or anyone in the crew for the matter, she didn't really expect to get her own room for this trip and she was fine with that. She just wished her roommate was just a little more talkative than madam Porlyusica was. The woman didn't say much, she usually kept to herself and her nose had been buried in at least one type of medical text the whole time. When she did speak it was usually to complain about something, usually the rocking of the boat or the loudness of the crew running around. Charla had been a bit terrified of her in the beginning but she realized that the woman meant no harm. She was just the type of person who kept to herself and she didn't like others being noisy. Charla expected to be scolded frequently when she found out who her room mate was. But as long as she cleaned up after herself and went to bed on time Porlyusica barely acknowledged her presence. She was free to move around the ship as she wanted, but she spent most of her time trying to find her father. It amazed and frustrated her that he was stuck on the same boat as her and she barely saw him outside of meals. She understood that he had work to do, but just once she wished he would invite her to come with him. She would stay out of his way, she just wanted to spend time with him but at the same time she felt like it was too much to ask. "Child, rather sitting there and sighing, why wont you go do something productive."

Charla didn't understand how the woman across from her wasn't bored, it was supposed to be a six day trip and that was long enough, because of a storm this was day nine at sea. They stopped briefly in a place Charla had never heard of before, but her father refused to let her leave the boat because he was worried about pirates. Even though Charla was a full blooded exceed, this was her first time out of the Iron Kingdom and the only thing she noticed immediately was the fact it kept getting colder. She knew that they were going to a place called the Iron Kingdom, but she wasn't expecting it to be so cold that she was constantly wrapped in a coat or a blanket. Porlyusica seemed unfazed, "Its too cold to do anything, I'm sure that even the vulcans are freezing right now. Aren't you cold?" Charla was sure that she currently looked silly, wrapped up like a burrito in layers of clothes and the blanket from her bed. She even wrapped her tail tightly around her waist and was wearing a hat even though she hated the way it squished down her ears, she was looking for warmth not comfort.

"I was born in the Ice Kingdom, though I left there many years ago, I will never be bothered by the cold. Though I never imagined I would ever return to such a place." It was the first time Porlyusica talked about herself, the woman didn't talk much in the first place. But hearing her say something personal was actually pretty astounding. Charla watched her lay her book face down and was even more surprised that she continued with her story. "I was born with a twin, a younger sister named Grandeeney. Arranged marriages are very common on this side of the world, and because I was the oldest I was set to be married first, to the prince of the Ice kingdom no less. Most women dreamed of an opportunity like that, but I had dreams of becoming a doctor, and that was an impossible feat for a woman in the Ice Kingdom. My younger sister wanted me to follow my dreams, so she took my place by pretending to be me, and I eventually ended up in the Iron Kingdom and never looked back."

"That had to be scary right? Moving somewhere so far away, all by yourself. That means you just had to be really brave." Porlyusica almost laughed at the fact she saw her cowardice was bravery. She had always been ashamed of letting her sister take her place, even though her sister always claimed to be happy she still felt guilty for letting her take her place. She was exactly excited to be sharing her room with a child for this trip, but Charla was well behaved enough not to bother her. She could tell the girl was pining for her fathers attention, and usually wasn't in the best mood because of it, Porlyusica didn't have any children of her own, but she treated them regularly. She could pick up on why some of them had behavior issues, and most of the time it had something to do with their parents. She though Pantherlily was a very good man, but he worked himself so hard that he didn't seem to notice his child begging for his attention.

"You're such a good child, a very intelligent one too. Why not just talk to your father about how you feel, rather than hoping he'll notice." Charla could feel her cheeks warm up, she didn't think it was that obvious. "It's nothing to be ashamed of girl, you're still very young, one day you will realize just how important communication is. You don't go to a doctor and just expect them to just guess your symptoms, but you'll have to learn that on your own, and how to stand firmly on your own two feet." Charla wanted to disappear into her cocoon of blankets, the last time she tried to talk to her father it turned into a temper tantrum. It wasn't her fault that she cried when she got upset, but finding out her father was leaving again so soon made her sad. She was happy that he decided to bring her along but she still hadn't seen as much as him as she liked.

"I guess I just need to try harder."

* * *

Charla couldn't believe she thought it was cold on the boat, now that she was standing in the actual country the fact she had her arms wrapped around her and her coat buttoned to her chin did nothing to warm herself. "Oh you poor thing, you're freezing." Charla didn't pay too much attention when the introductions were given, but she was thankful when the girl named Leverette wrapped her own coat around her to warm her up. Her coat was a lot thicker and nicer than hers, which wasn't too surprising since the girl was a princess. Charla's coat was made of wool and she barely ever wore it unless it was too rainy at home, but the Iron Kingdom was never cold enough to snow. This coat was heavy and filled with fur, and the girl seemed completely unfazed to be walking around without her coat, she noticed that no one else even bothered to even button their coats. Apparently this was supposed to be a nice weather this time of year, it was already April but there was still snow on the ground and it didn't seem to be on its way to melting yet.

The first thing she noticed about the family that ruled the Ice Kingdom was the color of their hair, all of them had bright cerulean locks that stood out against the snow that surrounded them. The only other person she had ever met with hair such a unique shade was Happy, and for the longest time she thought he just had an unfortunate encounter with hair dye. She also noticed they all had a slight accent, English wasn't their first language but they all spoke it flawlessly, she heard Leverette speak to one of the guards in a different language and then back to her father in English without. "I understand that my name is a little hard to pronounce, even for those who are fluent in French, a lot of people call me Levy instead, but either one is find." Charla sighed in relief she was already thinking about how embarrassed she was going to be from mispronouncing her name, even though she had heard it pronounced properly a handful of times , saying it herself was going to be a pain."

Charla thought Levy was a very pretty girl, but she couldn't help but notice that she was almost as short as her. Charla wasn't exactly tall for her age, but her head came up to her chin and Charla was at least five years younger than Levy was. The other girl finally spoke up and told her that it was okay to call her Wendy instead of Gwendolyn, but she was so soft spoken that she barely heard her the first time. Wendy looked like she was around her age, and she seemed really shy, she was either hiding behind one of her siblings and only seemed to speak when she was spoken to. "I completely understand the use of nicknames, Pantherlily has always been more than a mouthful for people so I've been called Lily my whole life." Charla was trying her best not to stare at the red markings down the face of King Jellal, it was definitely uncommon to see, but she had cat ears and a tail so she wasn't exactly something you saw every day either.

She was suddenly less nervous, her hand found her fathers and even with her gloves on her fingers were still freezing. She couldn't wait to get somewhere warm.


	7. Chapter 7

This place was quiet, way too quiet and it was making him restless. Pantherlily was sure that you could probably hear a pin drop from across the hall, but this didn't seem like the type of place where you even dared to make a mistake like dropping a pin. Unlike the Iron Kingdom the castle here wasn't open to the public so besides the royal family and the royal guard it was pretty much empty. The only reason he knew there was an actual staff of people working in the castle, was the fact when he got out of the shower in the morning his bed was made and there was always fresh laundry waiting for him. He had yet to see the maid even once, and he was curious if they were taught to stay out of sight. He was used to the Iron Kingdom and its constant chaos, the four young princes and their bad behavior always kept him on his toes, and the young men of the royal guard weren't much better. Gajeel had a bad habit of constantly giving his escorts the slip, he always complained that he could take care of himself and had no need for a body guard and it made it pretty impossible to find someone to take the job. A lot of the time he ended up doing it because he knew all of Gajeel's tricks, and he and Gajeel had enough respect for each other to not play those type of games.

Lady Leverette or Levy on the other hand was always where she said she would be, she had three body guards and at anytime all three of them knew where she was and what she was doing. They never followed her around the castle, but they were always aware, where she decided to go outside of the castle decided how many of them were actually going to accompany her. He didn't notice it right away, but Wendy had her own bodyguard too, he never walked too close to her but he was always there like a shadow and it made him wonder what Jellal was so paranoid about. Lily thought it was a bit excessive, but he didn't know much about this country, and if King Jellal thought it was necessary he wasn't going to question him on it. The King himself had two bodyguards, both were female and they never seemed to leave his side. Lily could only imagine how crowded it would be when the three siblings went anywhere together, and he wondered just how good each of them were at their jobs.

Speaking of jobs, this one felt like more of a vacation than anything. Lily was usually the first to jump at the chance to d a job nobody else wanted to do, a lot of times people would think the job was too far, or too dangerous or too long. As long as it paid good Lily was all over it so he was surprised when he came home after a six month trip to find out there was a well paying job escorting an ambassador open. Most people immediately jumped on a job like this as soon as it was posted, escort jobs were usually easy, and going to another country meant that your pockets were going to be lined well enough to not take another job for the rest of the year. This job alone was paying more than everything he made last year, and he was pretty much bored. When he found out the ambassador in question was none other than Miss Porlyusica he could see why everyone was hesitant to volunteer. His original plan was to stay home a little bit longer, but he was asked by the Queen to do it and he couldn't really say no to that. He wasn't terrified of Porlyusica like a lot of people were, he respected her and understood that she liked her privacy, she had a low tolerance for stupidity and as long as you understood that she would pretty much ignore you and keep to herself.

He was curious to why she was chosen for this particular job, she wasn't exactly a social person. He was more than surprised to find out she was the one to suggest the engagement on the first place, and was the aunt to Jellal and his siblings. Even around her nephew and nieces her mood never changed, he didn't know why he expected her to suddenly change her mean demeanor and embrace them like a normal aunt would. There were no hugs or I missed yous exchanged, no comment about how much they've grown or anything like that. Their greeting was professional to the point it was almost cold, and he was starting to notice that there was very little emotion exchanged from anyone here in general. Levy seemed to be a different person when she was around her brother, and he wasn't sure if it was out of respect or fear. It was always one word answers and she never stayed in his presence longer than she needed to, but when she was around Charla and Wendy it was all giggles. Wendy on the other hand was more respectful around her brother, but she was still her sweet and smiley self. All this down time was making Lily look into things he shouldn't, he knew a lot of these things weren't his business, but he was starting to think there was something dark going on here and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

* * *

For some reason Levy was hot, lately her bed had gotten a lot warmer than usual and she was pretty sure it was due to the fact that she had been acquiring one or more bed guests lately. The fact she could barely move one way or the other just proved her suspicions, Wendy was fast asleep with her arm thrown over her neck and the fact her had was resting on her shoulder made it really hard for Levy to move, not to mention the slight tingling sensation in her arm from not enough circulation because of her sisters weight. On the other side Charla was curled up next to her with her head resting on her chest, she could feel the weight of someone's legs on top of hers so she knew there was no way she could just wiggle out of here. She just didn't have the heart to wake either girl up, they were both so cute when they were sleeping, and Levy didn't climb into her own bed until well past midnight, so she could only imagine what time they snuck into bed with her.

She kissed her sisters forehead and was trying her best to remember her like this, Wendy was such a good girl and it broke her heart every time she thought about the fact she would be leaving her soon. She didn't mind the fact that her sister had been clinging to her a lot more lately, Levy couldn't help but understood how she felt, one day they woke up and Juvia was just gone and Wendy never head the chance to say goodbye. It was a blessing and a curse that they had a warning about their separation this time, Levy had been trying to find the best way to tell Jellal that she wanted to take Wendy with her. Levy being forced to move half way around the world and marrying a stranger would be worth it, if it meant she could make sure her little sister didn't suffer the same fate in a couple years.

Levy didn't really mind the fact that Charla had been sneaking into her bed at night too, her and Wendy had become fast friends despite the fact they were both shy. Charla was a little more assertive about things, but Wendy happily went along it. After the first week they were attached at the hip and she was glad that her sister was able to make a friend. The first couple nights of their impromptu sleepovers Charla had been embarrassed to wake up hugging Levy, when she was awake enough to realize what she was doing, she would try to jump out of bed just to be pulled back in and cuddled on both sides by the blue haired sisters. Levy secretly loved waking up like this, it stopped her from staying in bed all day and moping. If she couldn't put on a happy face for herself, the least she could do was try her best to be happy for the two girls who were sleeping beside her.

To say the last couple months had been rough would be a hell of an understatement, but she was getting better and better at hiding her emotions. Everyday she woke up was a day closer to her wedding, a day closer to leaving home, and worst of all it was a day closer to her wedding night. Levy already knew what was expected of her, and the thought alone made her sick to her stomach. The fact that she was marrying a prince meant that she would be expected to produce an Heir, this time next year she could be pregnant, and the thought of motherhood terrified her more than being a wife ever could. One child was hard enough to think of, but it was common practice that a second child was born soon after the first. Levy was only seventeen years old, and by the age of twenty she could be a mother of two. The Heir and a spare rule was the only reason she and Wendy had been born, their father wanted another son so her parents kept trying up until the point her mother died. Her mother had been pregnant more than four times, but they were the only ones to survive.

It made her wonder if she was going to suffer the same fate, the questions kept running through her head and she was driving herself insane. What if she couldn't get pregnant. What if she could only have girls and her husband wanted a boy like her father. What if she died giving birth. What if her husband turned out to be the same monster her father was. What if her husband hated her, what kind of life would she have if his only use for her was to get her pregnant. She didn't expect for her and her husband to love each other, but she didn't know what she would do if he turned out to be a cruel man. She thought about asking Charla if she knew anything about him, but she didn't want to bring a child in on her stupidity. She was going to be stuck marrying him either way, if she found out he was a bad person she would just end up dreading meeting him and she would make her last months here miserable. Levy had been doing this at least once a day, she would be thinking of all the bad things that could happen and the worse thing she could ever think of is never seeing Wendy again.

If she could even get Jellal to agree to let her take Wendy with her, would her new husband want her there? Would the Iron Kingdom be a better place for Wendy to grow up? Was Levy just being selfish for wanting her little sister to be close to her? If it came down to it Levy would get on her knees and beg her Aunt Porlyusica to take in Wendy if she had to. She would be the best wife she could be and do everything her husband asked of her just to keep her sister safe, as much as she didn't want to admit it and ignored the signs her brother was becoming more and more like their father. And the last bit of trust she had in her brother had been thrown out the window the minute he told her she had to get married.

Levy would gladly deal with an unhappy life if it meant Wendy would be safe, as many times as Levy thought about running away she knew it was selfish and she could never forgive herself if she did. She even thought about taking Wendy with her but she couldn't put her sister in a situation like that, what if her brother or her fiance would get angry enough to put a bounty on them. She was sure they wouldn't be killed but obviously punished for something like that. The forest was too dangerous, there were too many wild animals and bandits to try living off the land. And their hair was a dead give away of who they were. Stowing away and trying to make it to another country was out of the question too. It would be hard making it far enough past the Iron Kingdom to hide safely and she was sure they would be found or run out of money long before that happened.

On some of her darker days she thought about ending it all, more than once she found herself standing on her balcony that was three stories up. Levy was smart enough to know that the bushed below would break her fall and there was a chance she wouldn't actually die. Was being married really a worse fate than death? She didn't know why she thought she was special, most girls here were engaged before birth and married well before their sixteenth birthday. Girls her age were already mothers and married to men twice her age. She was marrying a prince, who was close to her age, for other girls it was a dream come true. She could feel her eyes burn, but she wasn't going to allow herself to cry. Levy tried to be a strong person, but every time she thought about things like the engagement, and her brother and how selfish she truly was, she couldn't help but wish that she was dead.

* * *

Charla knew that girls did things like this at home all the time, but she can honestly say that she had never taken a bath with another person before, let alone two. Wendy and Levy were sisters so she was sure they did things like this all the time, but Charla didn't even bother showering with the other girls at school, people already stared at her because she was different she didn't need people describing her naked on top of it. She didn't know why she agreed to this in the first place, but it seemed rude to say no. Charla always wondered what it would be like to have a sister, she often wished for a sibling in general and it was almost over night that her father came home with three boys she suddenly had to take care of. After that she had given up the idea of a sibling, and she tried not to get too close to Happy, Lector and Frosch, them living with her family was supposed to be a temporary thing. She tried not to get close to them because of that, but she loved them all and she tried her best to ignore Happy's crush on her.

Charla pulled her arms over her chest and did her best not to stare at either girls naked form, but it was the first time she had seen another person naked and she couldn't help but be curious about it. Wendy was actually really similar to her, she was just missing the tail, it made her feel better. She always thought she was a late bloomer, she could only describe herself as flat, but Wendy was a year older than her and they weren't all that different and it honestly made her feel better. But when she stared at Levy she had a sinking feeling that she would never look like that. It wasn't fair she thought Levy was just beyond beautiful and even though they were around the same height her body proved that she was a woman unlike Charla who still had the body of a child. Levy didn't seem to have a shy bone in her body, watching her wash her hair was almost hypnotizing and she couldn't help but wonder what she would look like when she was older. Even though Levy's chest wasn't huge, it was very obviously there, and Charla felt like she would never have a reason to find a proper bra. Even though her waist was tiny, her hips and thighs stood out more than anything. "Charla you're taking so long do you need help?"

Charla was so embarrassed she thought she was going to die, before she could even answer Wendy's question she started her back and to make matters worse Levy took it upon herself to help wash her hair. It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact Levy was very naked and her breasts were in Charla's face, Charla tried squeezing her eyes shut and waiting for it to be over but she knew she was as red as a tomato by now. Levy finally stopped when she realized what she was doing. "I'm so sorry Charla! I'm so used to doing that to Wendy I didn't think even think about how weird it probably is for you." Charla probably would have taken the apology more seriously if it wasn't for all the giggling the other girls were doing. Wendy gave her a hug from behind which didn't make things better and Charla was vowing to never take a bath with these two ever again.


	8. Chapter 8

There were few things in the world that came close to the feeling he had when he watched his daughter smile, Pantherlily always thought people were lying when people said that girls were the difficult ones. That was extremely hard to believe after years of watching girls play nice, and boys fight each other for any and every reason. He spent years chasing after Natsu and Gajeel, and he was sure he was going to have gray hair long before he was even a father himself. He thought it was a blessing when he found out his wife was pregnant with a girl, he stayed up all night painting her a room full of flowers and the next morning he went out and bought pink and frilly things and bows for her tail. He couldn't wait for her first words, to hear dada for the first time. The tiny footsteps around the house and kissing baby dolls to make them feel better. By the time she was two he was an expert on painting nails, and hairstyles that involved ponytails and braids. For the longest time he turned a blind eye and ignored all the warnings that girls had their faults too, that was until Charla threw her first temper tantrum in the middle of a busy store. He wouldn't have hesitated spanking Natsu or Gajeel for such behavior, but being wrapped around his daughters finger made him cave and just buy her the silly toy to stop her crying.

Over the years Lily even ignored his wife's comments about how much he spoiled Charla, he didn't see anything wrong with making sure his child was happy, and giving her everything she wanted. He was just being a good father, he didn't know why everyone thought it was such a bad thing, Lily himself grew up poor, and he had to work for everything he ever wanted and he didn't want his daughter to go through the same thing. He completely disagreed that Charla was spoiled for the longest time, she was his pretty precious princess who deserved the world and she looked at him like he was the greatest person on the planet. Until recently that is, the days of Charla running up to him and attaching herself to his leg the minute he got home was over. There was no more finding her asleep on the couch because she was waiting for him to get home, no more running home from school just to tell him how her day was or calling him everyday he was away just to tell him she missed him. No more invites to tea parties with plastic pastries, tap water and teddy bears. The more his daughter was growing up, the more they were growing apart and it felt like there was nothing he could do about it.

Lily knew first hand, and from dealing with Gajeel that adolescence could be best described as a tragic experience, especially for girls. More than once he had to pull Gajeel out of school because of he couldn't control his perverted preteen thoughts and that caused a certain part of his anatomy to have a mind of its own. Sure it was embarrassing, but it didn't even compare to having to pick his daughter up from school and taking her to the nearest pharmacy because of something he's personally never had to deal with. Neither one of them knew exactly what to buy in that situation so Lily just bought one of everything and let his wife sort it out when she got home. Lily was feeling more and more helpless in those kind of situations, he didn't know anything about periods or buying bras, so he was stuck on the back burner for a lot of things. But he never once expected his precious daughter who he taught to walk and talk would one day look at him with disdain, that was when she actually looked at him. He just didn't know what to do about the cold shoulder Charla constantly gave him, he tried his best to give her space and support her from afar but the situation just seemed to get worse rather than improve.

Because of his growing career Lily wasn't home as much as he wanted to be, but he worked hard so his wife didn't have to. The last couple years had been a bit harder with him gaining three children almost over night. But he wouldn't pull Charla out of her expensive private school because of a decision he made, so he just worked harder to keep up with the fees, and the three other mouths he had to feed. When happy started school it was obvious that he was behind in his education and Lily had to hire an expensive tutor for that, he was the same age as Charla but it was obvious he had been lacking in formal education for years. Lector was still young enough to be able to catch on quickly once he was old enough for school, he was seven and was far too smart to his age. It usually ended in mischief, but Lily would be happy to see him do something constructive with that brain of his. And Frosch who was only five would finally be old enough to attend school this coming fall a sweet boy, one of the most loving children he had ever met. He had watched these children bloom from three terrified little boys that had lost everything to so dear to his heart that he didn't mind waking up 100 miles from home to provide for them.

Then there was Charla his precious daughter, a spitting image of her mother, with his determination and Gajeel's attitude. That was partially his fault for letting her chase after him all of these years like the boy wasn't spoiled rotten himself. Every time she came home from a day with Gajeel she would always come with her arms full of some overly expensive thing Gajeel bought her. He had given up years ago telling Gajeel to stop doing that, but Gajeel and Charla were just sneaky about bringing her gifts home when Lily wasn't there. He was more than relieved when Charla finally outgrew the crush she had on Gajeel, and watching her hold hands and giggle at something Wendy whispered to her let Lily know that his daughter was still a lot more childish then she let on. "Father?"

Lily knew that tone of voice anywhere, his daughter wanted something. He could tell by the way she cupped her hands together, tilted her head and looked at him with pleading eyes. "Yes dear?" He could see Wendy trying to hide her giggles, she was a very well behaved young girl and was hoping she would rub off on Charla a little bit. He loved his daughter but sometimes it was hard to deal with her bratty ways, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen her so excited about something before. It was just a dress, and it was a very pretty one, so he could see why Charla had hearts in her eyes about it. The only thing that worried him about it was the fact it was in the window display. When the girls wanted to go shopping he decided to tag along just to have something to do, he didn't imagine that his pockets might be hurting after this little trip until he read the price tag on the dress his daughter wanted. The sigh and disappointed look on Charla's face broke his heart when he said "we'll see." They both knew that it was a no, he would love to get Charla a dress like that, but he could never justify spending that much money on a dress she would outgrow in a couple months. It didn't matter if it was handmade and gorgeous, the damn thing was more expensive then his house was.

It was times like this he wished he was just a little bit busier, or that his wife was here. For some reason it was easy for Shagotte to tell Charla no, sure Charla would still mope a little bit about it, but it didn't seem to phase his wife at all. Lily wasn't used to having this much time to himself, especially on jobs that involved him traveling. He was usually running around for some client, or doing some sort of ridiculous thing that wasn't apart of his job description. He didn't mind it too much though, it was all apart of the job like making sure that his men were behaving themselves. Sometimes Lily felt like the worlds greatest baby sitter, but even on this job he didn't have much of that to do. The only one of his men that he might have to worry about was Bixlow, but with Freed around it wasn't likely that he was getting too much out of line. It almost seemed wrong for him to have this much down time while he was getting paid as much as he was, the only bright side was bonding with Charla. Most people didn't complain about getting paid to sit around, but Lily seemed to always get restless if he wasn't doing something productive. It wouldn't be so bad if Porlyusica actually needed his help, she always seemed to dismissed him before he even had a chance to ask her if she needed anything. He made sure two of his soldiers were around her at all times, but even they seemed to be bored at their post, and he was sure Porlyusica was trying her best to chase them away too.

"If you wanted to, you could really get it for her." Lily honestly almost forgot that Wendy's bodyguard was here, the man was usually very quiet and kept enough distance between him and Wendy that at first glace you wouldn't realize that they were together. If he remembered correctly the mans name was Mest and he had been guarding Wendy for the past two years, whenever they were out together he was all business but when they were inside the castle it wasn't rare to see him going along with Wendy and Charlas games even if that meant he ended up with a face full of make up and painted nails. "As a guest of the Ice Kingdom all your expenses are covered, including any shopping you want to do. Just charge anything you want to the castle and they'll deliver it, she'll never know the difference."

It was tempting, but Lily wasn't one who liked to take handouts, but at the same time they were half way around the world and her getting one thing wouldn't hurt. Was he really going to make his daughter miss out on something because of his pride? Maybe he would just take a closer look at it before he made a decision, it was hard watching her turn back and keep looking at the dress when she thought no one was looking. Lily just sighed, he was wrapped around her finger and he knew it, and if buying her love is what it took to mend their relationship he was going to at least try.

* * *

Levy was really starting to regret her decision of actually going into town to go shopping, she didn't necessarily love being home all the time but it would have been a lot easier to flip through a book of fabrics and get her measurements done in the comfort of her own room. It felt so strange to feel the sun after so many days of snow and ice followed by more rain then she could ever want, it was one of the first warm days of they year, and she knew just as easily tomorrow it could rain again so she was going to enjoy the weather while she could. The ground was still covered in puddles in places so she ended up pulling her dress above her ankles to avoid ruining it, it was annoying but a wet dress was worse and she didn't think it would be appreciated if she was dripping muddy water all over peoples stores. She could only laugh when all three of her bodyguards offered to carry her, she knew they meant well, but it would be pretty embarrassing to be carried around like a child. But them trying to guide her around the puddles and throw things down to try and cover it didn't exactly make things better.

Levy was used to Droy and Jet going above and beyond to try to make sure she was happy, but her newer bodyguard Rufus was seemed uncomfortable but was trying his best to keep up with the other two. She had knew Jet and Droy since they were children, they were brothers and they all grew up together because their father was Levy's bodyguard when she was a child. When he retired both of his sons vowed to take care of Levy and to stop the fighting it was decided that they would share the responsibility. They all worked together well, Jet was always in charge of anything she needed outside of the castle and Droy took care of everything indoors. Recently she had been sending Jet into town a few times to week for books and whatever else she needed, she knew he didn't mind it but she still felt bad for making him go out of her way to do something she could have done herself.

Droy had been making himself busy helping her in the library a lot recently, they were working on reorganizing the library and Levy was having a hard time picking out which books she just couldn't live without. He was usually in the library long before she woke up and sometimes even after she was ready for bed he would still be working on it. She already knew both of them were dedicated to her, but the fact that she only had a few months left with them made both boys kick it into overtime just to make sure she was happy. Rufus was her newest bodyguard, he had been with her for a few short months but he tried his best to make sure he did everything he needed to do. In the rare occasion he was late or didn't do something perfectly Jet and Droy were on him long before Levy had a chance to tell him it was okay. She loved them all in their different ways, but it was hard to think about the fact she would be telling them goodbye soon. She was sure all of them knew about her engagement, but none of them bothered to mention anything about it yet. "Do you boys want to get something to eat before we get to the boring part?"

* * *

Levy was regretting trying on clothes with a full stomach, the cafe they ate at had some of the best food she had ever eaten which made her stuff herself to the point she was sick. She knew she should have said no to that second piece of chocolate cake, but it was just calling her name. One of the perks of being a princess was the fact people went out of their way to try to please you, but she wasn't expecting the chef to bring her out one of everything. If it wasn't for the fact she had three grown men dining with her she would have never finished that much food. She practically had to force the owner of the restaurant to take payment for their meal, the only way she could convince him was to pay the bill for everyone who was there. Free things were nice and all but she didn't see a point in taking free things when she had more than enough to pay for it.

With every pull of the laces of this corset Levy was more and more convinced that she was going to lose her lunch all over this pretty dress, she felt sick and she wasn't sure if it was due to the corset that was currently crushing her ribs, or the full stomach she was trying her best to suck in. It was probably a mixture of both, she could deal with the nauseous feeling as long as it was something as simple as a too full belly or a dress that was too tight. That meant the feeling would pass, if the butterflies in were stomach were due to the fact she was looking at herself in a wedding dress for the first time, she was sure she would throw up all over the place. She had the attendant help her out of the dress, Levy really didn't want to ruin it, but that nauseous feeling didn't leave her as she locked herself in the bathroom sure that she was about to throw up.

She was glad that this shop was mostly empty, it wasn't very princess like to be sitting on a bathroom floor in your underwear while you were trying to catch your breathe. She tried to take deep calming breathes like her mother taught her when she was a child, it wasn't very warm in the store but her body was covered in a layer of sweat that she sure wasn't there a minute ago. She didn't want anyone to see her like this, she knew Rufus was still in the waiting room and if she didn't come out soon he would come looking for her. He wouldn't go as far as coming inside the bathroom with her but he would make sure she was alright through the door. Jet and Droy were still outside the shop was small so she told them to wait there so they wouldn't be overcrowded. And she knew if Rufus got concerned those two wouldn't be far behind, unlike Rufus those two wouldn't hesitate breaking down the door to get to her. It was their job to make sure she was alright, and if they thought for a minute something was wrong with her, they would be by her side no matter how embarrassing the situation was. "Levy?"

* * *

Wendy always found it easy to find her sister even when she wasn't trying to, Jet and Droy weren't exactly the most quiet people in the world so when she heard them arguing down the street she decided to see what they were up to. She was a little hurt that Levy didn't tell her she was going dress shopping today, she couldn't wait to see her sister in a wedding dress. Wendy herself wasn't old enough to be married, but one day she would be, she wondered if the woman in the shop had anything she could play dress up in while Levy looked around for one. She was originally shopping with Lily and Charla, but they decided to head back early and Wendy wasn't exactly ready to go home yet. She felt like she had been stuck in the castle all winter and she didn't have to be back home until dinner, so she was going to enjoy her freedom while she had it. Mest seemed to be enjoying the weather too, he kept picking dandelions out of random patches of grass and attempting to make her a flower crown but he was failing miserably.

This dress shop wasn't very big, but she and Levy had been coming here for years just because the woman specialized in making clothing for petite women and children. Her sister wasn't that much taller than her, and Wendy wondered if she would pass her up one day, she knew Levy hated being short but a lot of people found her size cute. Levy was only four years older than her, but it was very obvious that she was a woman and that Wendy was still a child, it wasn't until last winter that she finally started to grow breast and when she complained about it to Levy she just said that meant she would becoming a woman soon. Wendy wasn't looking forward to having a period, everyone complained about being uncomfortable. But Charla was younger than her and already had hers so Wendy just felt like she was behind and wondered if she would ever grow up.

For her last birthday Levy bought her a dress that actually made her feel like a woman for once, she remembered her excitement as her sister pulled the laces of her corset for the first time and styled her hair in bun that made her feel like she was one of the princesses out of the books Levy would read to her when she was younger. It was a dark blue dress that faded to green and was covered in pearls, it reminded her of the ocean and the laces of her corset matched her hair perfectly. It was Wendy's first time wearing makeup, even if it was just a soft pink lipstick she thought it made a world of difference. She knew Jellal wasn't too happy about her grown up appearance but he didn't say anything and offered to be her first dance partner for the night. She remembered feeling beautiful that night, as pretty as her sisters were. A lot of people called Wendy cute, but that night she felt absolutely beautiful.

Levy wasn't one to ditch her guards or run away so Wendy just knew she had to be in the bathroom, she didn't want to disturb her sister during her private time, but it had already been ten minutes and she was starting to get worried. She knocked lightly on the door and called her name, but she didn't get an answer right away. "Levy? Are you in here?" She still didn't get an answer but she could hear the door unlock, and when she saw her sister on the floor all she could so is wrap her arms around her and hold her until the tears stopped.


	9. Chapter 9

Sometimes Wendy couldn't help but feel like she was completely useless, she was thirteen years old and she still couldn't even take care of herself. She never needed to, even though she was an orphan and couldn't even remember her parents faces, she had three siblings who did their best to give her the world. Every time she thought about it, she could feel the tears burning in the back of her eyes, but she told herself she wasn't going to cry. She couldn't. She was done with being weak, and it was time to learn how to be strong. Even though the last few years had been harder on everyone, Wendy still had everything she needed. Most of the time Jellal was too busy for her and it was rare to see him outside of meals she knew her brother still loved her. Every once in a while she would find a new dress in her room or some gift that showed her he cared, even though she would prefer spending time with him, the presents were still nice. It had been a little over two years since she last saw Juvia, but she still loved her sister very much even though she was gone. The fact Jellal hadn't gone searching for her when she disappeared let Wendy know that Juvia left on her own, and even though she missed her, she just hoped she was somewhere happy and safe.

When she thought about her sister Levy she knew she didn't even deserve to cry. Nothing would make her feel worse than Levy finding her balling her eyes out in the kitchen she managed to ruin. Levy would try her best to make her feel better and clean up the mess before Wendy had a chance to tell her not to. It was just the kind of person Levy was, she always put others before herself, no matter how busy she was or how much she was struggling on her own. Even though Levy wasn't even five years older than herself, she was the closest thing to a mother that Wendy had ever had. Levy was the one who taught her how to walk, there were many pictures in the their photo album of Levy holding both her hands and walking backwards when Wendy was so small she didn't even remember it. Levy taught her how to speak all five languages that she knew, and she was always patient with her when she had trouble pronouncing new words and mixing up her sentences. Even now it was rare Levy ever got to take a bath or sleep by herself, Wendy loved being around her sister and she never really thought that Levy minded her being around all the time. That was until last week... When she found her sister crying, if Levy could hide her feelings so easily that Wendy never noticed something was wrong, who knew what else she was hiding. That's why Wendy had to do her best to grow up, to learn how to take care of herself, to make sure Levy would have nothing to worry about when she finally left. Wendy wanted to learn how to be more than just a burden to her big sister, to be someone she was proud of.

She knew Levy would never just come out and say it if she was bothering her, just like she never mentioned how she really felt about her wedding. When Wendy thought about it more, it was a bit strange her sister never talked about it, and when someone brought it up Levy completely avoided the question. Wendy should have known something was wrong, Levy was her sister and her closest friend and she didn't have a clue that Levy was struggling like this, Wendy hadn't even bothered to ask. Neither one of them even mentioned what happened in the dress shop since that day, she was pretty much in awe as she watched her sister go from falling apart to perfectly fine again like nothing happened in a matter of minutes. If it wasn't for the fact she saw it herself or the tears that had soaked her shoulder she would have never known something was wrong. It was strange to watch her sister walk around like her normal happy self, like nothing happened at all. Whenever Wendy cried she ended up sniffling forever and looking like a wreck the rest of the day, Levy looked fine and that bothered her... She wondered how often Levy actually did that, how many years of practice did it take to perfect it... What else was Levy hiding her feelings about? What else was Wendy too stupid to know.

It had been a week since that day in the dress shop, and it had been a week since Wendy had been watching her sisters every move. And not for even a second did her true feelings ever show, the sadness she witness never reappeared but Wendy knew it was there. Levy had to be really upset to cry, she could probably count on one hand she had seen her sister crying about something that wasn't caused by a book. Wendy had been doing her best not to bother Levy about every little thing like she usually did, and it was a wake up to how much she actually relied on her sister. But the messy braid in her hair and the fact she managed to destroy the whole kitchen in a matter of hours was proof enough that she wasn't used to doing things on her own.

Wendy wasn't even trying to make anything complicated, she was just trying to do something nice. Even if it was little she hoped it would at last make Levy feel better for a little while. She found the recipe for Levy's favorite shortbread cookies and she was going to make her favorite blackberry tea to go with it. But even that managed to blow up in her face, literally. There was flour and sugar all over the place and she hadn't even managed to make a decent batch yet. The first batch was thrown all over the table and walls from her turning the mixer on too high. She dropped the dough another time, forgot to turn on the ovens timer and burned another batch, and so on and so forth. She wasn't doing any better with the tea, it was either too strong, or not strong enough. Too much sugar, too much honey, not enough lemon and then running out of ingredients or putting them together in the wrong order. She even managed to mix up the sugar and the salt a few times and lets just say that was a taste she would never get out of her mouth. "Wendy sweetie? Are you okay? What in the world happened in here?"

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Pantherlily hadn't felt this good in years, he couldn't remember the last time he was able to wake up before dawn and go a ten mile run before breakfast. He knew his men weren't feeling as enthusiastic about their work out as he was, but they were young men and needed something to get their blood pumping first thing in the morning. Half of them crawled their way to breakfast he was sure some of them were either plotting their revenge or wondering what they did to merit such a punishment in the first place. It took them all a while to adjust to life in the Ice Kingdom but they were finally starting to adjust right before it was time to return home. Lily himself was starting to enjoy the peace and quiet that he once found suffocating and though he was looking forward to the return home he wasn't sure if he was ready to be busy at every moment again.

Despite missing her mother he knew Charle wasn't ready to return home just yet, she was so attached to both Wendy and Levy that she cried every time he mentioned their return home. He already discussed the situation with his wife and even though neither one of them wanted to tear her away from her friends it was a hard decision to leave their child on the opposite side of the world. But, Lily hadn't seen his daughter so happy in years and being around the two young princesses was a good influence on her. He noticed the change in her slowly, she was less angry and she didn't hesitate to greet him with a smile and he couldn't keep count of the number of times she would jump into his arms and tell him she loved him. Speaking of which, "Daddy!" he couldn't contain his smile as he lifted her over her head, something his back regretted after he did it but that never stopped him from doing it. The way she would giggle before he put her down was contagious and even though his back usually regretted it he usually gave Wendy the same treatment when she would try to look away shyly at their exchange.

"Are you ready to go sweetie?" They had been planning on visiting the Kingdoms zoo for a while now and today was the first day that it opened, he had been spending a lot less time worrying about everything and more time with his daughter and it felt like he was making up for loss time. In all honesty he wasn't sure if he was ready to leave this place either, and then there was Wendy. The girls were so attached at the hip that he felt like he gained another daughter, and he didn't mind it at all. She was a sweet girl and though she was very close to her sister Levy she didn't seem to know what it was like to have a father and he happily filled in the roll for the time being. "Did you want to invite Wendy? I'm sure she would love to go too." He knew the girls were the best of friends, but Wendy was usually studying this time of day, Levy was her tutor so he was sure he could convince Levy to give her sister the day off. He always found himself in awe when he found out just how intelligent the two girls were.

He knew Charle was heading to the Library on the other side of the castle so it was going to take her a minute to make it there and back. Even after a big breakfast a shower and a nap Lily was feeling a little bit drained and he was going to at least need a small snack if he was going to make it through a trip to the zoo with two young girls that got overly excited over everything. He wasn't exactly a stranger to the kitchen it was open to everyone anytime a day and he would be lying if he said he didn't come here for some kiwi a few times a day. From time to time some of the maids would leave him a fruit basket outside of his room or in his office he usually would eat all the kiwi and be done with it so he would return the basket to the kitchen before the rest of the food went to waste. It wasn't that he disliked the other fruit or anything, it was just the fact that he preferred kiwi over everything else and there was nothing wrong with not wanting to settle for something less than the best. At least that's what he told himself.

When he walked into the kitchen he was expecting it to be empty, lunch wasn't for hours so there was no reason for anyone to be here this time a day. He was expecting to see counters so clean he could see his reflection, and fresh picked fruit straight from the greenhouse. What he actually got was a thick layer of what he could only guess what was flour all over the place and he could hear the sniffles of someone he couldn't see. He tried his best to walk in the few clean spots of the once pristine kitchen to find the culprit of the mess and the crying. What he found was a mess of blue hair and a green dress covered in flour among the other things that were also spread on the walls counters and floor. "Wendy sweetie? Are you okay? What in the world happened in here?" Despite the teary eyes and the mess that covered her and the kitchen she seemed fine, just a little upset and in obvious need of a bath.

He sat her on the counter and did his best to wipe the flour off her face and made an attempt to wipe the flour out of the braid that was starting to unravel. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head no and just tried her best to avoid his gaze, he did his best to calm her down even though he wasn't sure what the problem was, she was down to a sniffle but she was obviously still very upset about something. "That's okay too, but maybe talking about it will make you feel a little better. It's going to be hard for me to help you if I don't know what's wrong." He looked around the room to see her obvious attempt at making cookies, some of them were burned and others were still in the shape of her cookie cutter but hadn't yet made it to the oven. There was a dark liquid and tea leaves all over a different table and a few cups with different shades of the same color in them. "Did you make these? And get a little too excited in the process?"

He popped one of the cookies in his mouth and did his best not to spit it back out. He suffered through the taste so he wouldn't upset Wendy more than she already was, it was obvious she forgot to add sugar to this batch and even though it wasn't great tasting and dry he could deal with the after taste over the poor girl crying again. The tea had the opposite problem, the cup he happened to pick up had so much sugar that he could practically chew it. He did his best not to spit it out either, but he definitely learned his lesson on just putting anything in his mouth. When Charle walked in she was definitely surprised by he did his best to shush her before Wendy saw her reaction. "Oh Daddy? Are we baking instead? You never bake with me at home, do you want to make something Wendy?" He was thankful that his daughter inherited his ability to read the room properly. Maybe she would do a better job at making her friend feel better, Lily wasn't even sure where to stop but he knew he needed to throw out what was already here before somebody hurt themselves.

A headache, One food fight, two hours, and three pink aprons later they had four good batches of cookies and who knows how many bad ones. It had been years since Lily actually baked anything in the kitchen so it took him a few tries to get back in the swing of things. If it wasn't for his two helpers he probably would have never finished, but the new found smile on Wendy's face was worth it. Charle seemed to love the idea of the father running around in a frilly pink apron making cookies and brewing tea, but she looked just as silly covered in flour and climbing up on counters trying to find ingredients whenever she had a misstep in the recipe. Wendy casually mentioned that she was trying to make snack for her sister and things didn't seem to end to well when she was on her own. But she seemed confident to take her sister the tray full of cookies and tea while Lily did his best to clean up the hurricane of ingredients that got thrown around the kitchen. Sure the mess was bad, and he was sure they all needed a bath, but he couldn't remember the last time he had so much fun.


	10. Chapter 10

I know I suck at updating! Sorry guys!

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Charla couldn't remember the last time she was up like this. She was tired, but she couldn't bring herself to go to sleep. Her eyes burning was a nasty reminder of her lack of rest every time she closed her eyes. But even with the comfort of the sheets beneath her and the warm embrace of the girl next to her she couldn't stop her mind from racing long enough to keep them closed. She wanted to blame her wakeness on the storm that had been going on for the better part of the night, if she was home she wouldn't have hesitated to run to her mothers bed for safety. She would always wake up with Lector and Frosch squeezed between them and Happy fast asleep at the foot of the bed. If her father were here she didn't even have to run to him, he would could climb in her bed and read her stories until she fell asleep, it was a funny thing to wake up to seeing her big strong father covered in princess sheets and surrounded by stuff animals. She always suspected that her father hated thunderstorms too, he always looked as uncomfortable as her when lighting would light up the sky and a crash of thunder would shake the room. But he would never say anything about it, he never scolded her for having such an irrational fear at her age. He assured her she would get over it at her own pace, and until then it was his job to chase her fears away the best he could.

But, right now her father was gone, and she was feeling all alone. She tried to be a big girl, she told herself she wasn't going to cry over something as a little weather and missing her family. The storm would pass eventually, and she could just sleep then. If anyone bothered her in the morning she would just tell them to go away and spend the day hugging the pillow her father left. And missing her family was her own fault, just thinking about it made it feel like she had a heavy weight on her chest, and she had to remind herself for the countless time tonight that she wasn't going to cry. Charla knew she was selfish, a brat even, she knew what people said about her and a lot of the time she was in denial about it. But this time she knew it was all her fault, she was the who begged and pleaded and cried when it was time for her to go home. She wasn't ready to leave the Ice Kingdom yet, she wanted to spend more time with Wendy and Levy, she wasn't done with being treated like a princess and receiving nice things just because she asked for it. She didn't care if it meant she would have to stay here another four months, or that it would be another three until she saw her mother again.

Charla never thought about the fact she would be missing her mothers birthday, or Frosch's first day of school. Or going to the summer festival where Gajeel always won her a stuffed toy and her and Lector would ride the Ferris wheel together. She even missed Happy, he was always so nice to her, even though she found some of the things he did annoying most of the time, she still missed his smiling face. She wasn't crying, it definitely had to be raining inside, she wiped the stray tear off of her face and tried to control her breathing. She didn't want to wake up the girl next to her, especially since it was Charla's fault that she was responsible in the first place. It wasn't until after her father left did Wendy mention that Levy had been really sad lately, she never mentioned why and Charla never even noticed herself until she saw Levy with tears in her eyes one day when she thought no one was looking. Charla felt like an even worse person after that, because she wanted to stay Levy was forced to volunteer to take care of her. She never said she minded, but some days her masked a little more than others and Charla couldn't help to think that it was all of her fault.

If it wasn't for the storm she never would have sneaked into Levy's room, she stood outside her door hugging her fathers pillow debating on what to do until another crash of thunder sent her racing into the other girls room. Even when she was half asleep Levy was still pretty in a way Charla could only wish to be, she hadn't bothered to braid her hair tonight and even in the dark the color of her hair reminded her of a waterfall with the way it pooled on her pillow, and it made Charla want to grow her hair out. She wondered if she would look more like her mother that way, people raved about her mothers beauty all the time, but when it came to Charla they just usually mentioned what a brat she was. Happy thought she was pretty, he told her that all the time, and even Gajeel said she was cute, it was usually when she was yelling at him and he would ruffle her hair and tease her until she was red in the face. But she had never once been called beautiful. Wendy was beautiful, Levy was too, Charla wondered if it was a princess thing.

Levy wasn't the first princess she met, Gajeel usually recruited her on whatever date he was forced to go on, and they were usually so snotty and bratty that Gajeel would be so annoyed that he would end up ignoring the girl and hanging out with Charla until it was over. Levy was the first princess she met that was actually like the ones in stories, she liked to read books like Belle and it made Charla laugh when she imagined her and Gajeel as Beauty and the Beast. She was nice to everyone she met and Charla wondered if Levy actually learned how to be a Princess from the same books she read as a child. Levy didn't hesitate to wrap her arms around Charla when she climbed into her bed, Charla noticed the pillow they were laying on was wet but she never said anything about it. She was already intruding into Levy's room and her life, it really wasn't her right to ask her how long she had been crying herself to sleep or why.

Charla was almost asleep when she felt the bed dip behind her, Levy had rolled to the other end of the bed hours ago, and Charla was glad that Levy had a bed big enough to fit the three of them comfortably. "You couldn't sleep either?" She hadn't told anyone about her fear of thunderstorms but Charla didn't think she hid it well, one time her and Wendy were out on a picnic and Charla ended up putting her hands over her ears until she was safe in her fathers arms. She knew Wendy wasn't afraid of such of thing, it stormed like this in the Ice Kingdom often this time of year and she witnessed Levy and Wendy playing in the rain until they soaked through their dresses and Jellal made them come in. "Is she asleep?" Charla nodded she wasn't the best at whispering and she was doing her best not to wake Levy up a second time. Wendy slid in beside her and as if she could read her mind she wrapped her arms around Charla and told her it will be alright. " I'm glad you're still here Charla, you're my best friend, and I would have been really sad if you would have had to leave so soon."

Charla couldn't help but smile at that, she didn't have many friends at home and girls her age didn't like her. "I love you too Wendy. And I wish you could come home with me. We would spend every day together like we do now, you could meet my mom, I'm sure she would like you a lot. And Happy, and Lector, and Frosch. Even Gajeel will love you since he's going to be your new brother and we could go to school together and have fun. You wouldn't even have to miss Levy, I would share my room with you and we could visit the palace as much as we want."

"I would like that a lot."

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Levy wasn't eavesdropping, it wasn't her fault the two younger girls decided to have this conversation in her bed in the middle of the night. She woke up the minute she felt Wendy crawl in her bed and it was hard to sleep with all of their giggles, but she didn't mind listening to their hopes for the future. Levy never planned on leaving Wendy here, she loved her brother but she didn't think she could leave her baby sister all alone. She didn't remember much about when Wendy was born, but she knew she had been taking care of her as long as she could remember, teaching her to walk and talk and read. Now she was almost as tall as Levy, but she still didn't think she could live without her for the rest of her life. Levy had already cried herself out tonight, if it wasn't for Charla she probably would have done it until she gave herself a headache, but comforting the younger girl helped make her feel a little bit better. "You and the prince are friends right? Will you tell me what he's like?" The question made a lump form in her throat, she had purposely been avoiding every conversation about her fiance because knowing about him would make things feel real. But, she couldn't exactly run out of her room in the middle of the night when she was pretending to be asleep. Levy did her best to keep her breathing steady when Charla started talking.

"Well, there's actually four of them. Sting and Rogue are the youngest, even though they're twins they don't look alike. They're around our age and they love to cause trouble. They like to hang out with Lector and Frosch so they're always at my house, but they thing girls are gross so they don't really spend that much time with me." Levy knew she was gaining three brothers, but she didn't know much about them, she didn't even know that the youngest two were twins, but apparently they were going to be a handful and she wondered if they were going to dislike her just because she was a girl. Not to mention the fact she was marrying their brother, she was just going to assume there was going to be pranks involved and was hoping for the best of things. She recognized the names of two of the children Lily mentioned he had been fostering over the years, he said him and his wife were having a hard time adopting them because they didn't have records and there was still a chance that someone would come looking for them one day.

"Natsu is the second oldest, he's a little bit older than Levy, but a lot of the time he acts like a little kid. He's really nice, but a lot of people think he's kinda stupid. My dad says he only acts like that, and he's actually really smart. He has a lot of friends and he's always doing something he shouldn't but Hess best friends with Happy even though Hess older than him. Natsu has pink hair, and its natural, he used to get into a lot of fights when he was younger because people would make fun of it. But Gajeel would beat them up and tell them how stupid they were when Natsu wasn't around, one year Gajeel dyed his hair pink to match Natsu's and everyone was too afraid to make fun of Gajeel so they stopped." Levy heard Wendy giggle, but she wasn't sure how she felt about that. It was obvious that Gajeel really cared about his brother to go through lengths like that, but also solving your problems wasn't the best thing, but it got the job done. It made her think of Juvia, her sister never hesitated to slap anyone who said something about her or Wendy. Juvia was a passionate person and Levy wondered if Gajeel was going to remind her of Juvia.

"Gajeel's one of my best friends. A lot of people think he's mean because he's kind of quiet, but he's only ever been nice to me." Levy listened to the story of how Gajeel bought Charla every rose in the Kingdom for her birthday, or how he was always sneaking her gifts when she was sad, and Levy was happy to hear that Gajeel at least sounded like a good person. "He kind of has a bad temper though, he gets mad pretty easily, but a lot of the stuff that makes him mad would upset me too." Levy wasn't sure what to think about that either, would he lose his temper with her a lot? She hoped not, on paper Levy knew how to be a wife, but in execution she couldn't help but think she would fail. Hopefully he would be patient with her in the beginning, she was a fast learner and hopefully Charla could convince him to be nice, even though she would never ask her for that.

"He's really protective of the people he loves, one time there was a Princess from another Kingdom and she was really mean to me. Gajeel always invites me to hangout when he has company because he says they're boring, but she really didn't like me being there. So she said a lot of mean things when Gajeel wasn't looking to try to make me go away. But Gajeel wanted me to stay so I did, she got mad that I was holding his hand and he wouldn't hold hers. She was really jealous of me because Gajeel was giving me all of his attention, but all Jenny wanted to talk about is like money and clothes and how pretty she was so we both got really bored." Levy could understand how boring it could be getting stuck entertaining a person who only had an interest in your title, she couldn't even count all the dinners she had went to where the men either talked about her becoming one of their many wives. Or they just talked to her about material things because Jellal was busy and they thought she was stupid. Levy would occasionally get bored enough to correct their numbers on the figures they were talking about, or listen to them talk about her in a language they thought she didn't know. At the end of their conversation she would excuse herself fluently in whatever language they were speaking and smile to herself about how white they turned.

"When Gajeel went to go get us food, Jenny stomped on my tail and told me if I didn't go away she would deport my family when she was Queen. I wanted to claw her eyes out, but Gajeel wouldn't let me. Other girls had been mean to me before because they wanted to get close to Gajeel, but not as bad as her. Gajeel told her she had one chance to apologize, but she pretended like she didn't know what he was talking about and called me a lying brat. So he stepped on the back of her dress and made her fall in a fountain." Levy could hear both girls giggle about Gajeel's version of justice, and she could imagine that it was a sight to see. Being a princess, you were dressed in your finest clothes during outings and if she was doing her best to try and impress Gajeel she must have been dressed to the nines. Most of the times the dresses were so heavy it was hard to walk, and her ending up soaked had to be miserable. "It was so funny! She looked like a wet dog, and all of her makeup started to melt off and it took three guards to pull her out. Gajeel's mom was really mad about it, but he just winked at me and told me I was the most important girl in his life." Levy could only wonder which Gajeel she was going to meet, the sweet one who loved Charle and took care of his brothers, or the temper-mental who took justice into his own hands whenever he felt the need. She fell asleep wondering what their first meeting would be like, she just really hoped that he wouldn't get the urge to push her into a fountain.

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There was another part to this chapter, but its twice as long, and I'm lazy and don't want to edit it. So I'm just making it a whole new one. Sorry for the wait, and thank you for reading. -Love Chesxca

Also if you follow me on Tumblr I will be stitching over to a new one soon, It's Chesxca-c instead of Chesxca now and Idk how long I'm going to have access to the old one.


	11. Chapter 11

If you follow me on tumblr you already know what's happening somewhere in this chapter lol. For those who don't enjoy the surprise.

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Gajeel couldn't help but feel both lucky and unlucky that his latest bodyguard decided to quit, he never hid the fact that he hated having a bodyguard, since the age of ten he whined about being too old for a baby sitter and that he could take care of himself. Not all of them were bad, it was just a matter of Gajeel hating the fact he always had a shadow there, but this last one seemed to be missing a brain completely. As a kid it was well known that Gajeel loved giving his bodyguards a hard time, he could never deny that he was a brat back then, but he would like to think he matured over the years. By the time he was sixteen he had gone through so many of them that he stopped bothering to learn their names. "Hey, you." Was one of the milder ways he addressed them, but he lost count of how many times his mother washed his mouth out with soap for the more vulgar nick names he used. It took Gajeel almost a full minute to put two and two together when his mother so summoned him to her room to announce that someone named Krov quit. His mom used to throw a fit every time she had to go through the process of finding him a new bodyguard. But over the years it had become such a normal occurrence that she ran out of ways to punish him, she didn't even yell anymore, she just dismissed him and a new one would show up at his door in the morning.

Gajeel was sure the only reason people still applied for the position was because his mother offered a small fortune to anyone who could last a month, not may people did, but it was enough to make people want to try. Everyone who quit was offered an extra weeks pay and a decent severance package for their time, which Gajeel thought was way too generous because he didn't think he was that terrible anymore. Gajeel didn't go out of his way to make their jobs harder now that he was older, but he refused to wait around for them all day and be treated like a child. Gajeel was a pretty busy guy, so if he walked too fast, or they didn't know his schedule and lost him it was their own damn fault. For some reason they seemed to grow dumber by the day, the bodyguard he had before the one named Krov who's name he didn't remember freaked out because he lost Gajeel in a crowded market and practically ran back to the palace to tell his mother about it. Gajeel thought the guy was nice and all, but he had to be pretty stupid to run to your boss and admit that you pretty much suck at your job. Most of his bodyguards were smart enough to follow his schedule and just show up at the next place listed, wait for him and pretend like nothing happened. When Gajeel got home later that day he had a fun time explaining to everyone that he ate some bad food and was stranded in the bathroom for an amount of time he really didn't want to admit. If it wasn't for a picture that came out the next day of his feet under the stall, his mom would have never believed him. Gajeel reminded himself to find whatever leech took the photo and to choke him out when he had the chance.

Gajeel rarely bothered to say more than two words to the man named Krov, but the last conversation he had with him wasn't exactly pleasant, but he was still surprised that he bothered to quit. Even though Gajeel ignored Krov that didn't stop the man from boring Gajeel with any and everything he could think of. Gajeel wasn't usually one to give a shit about someone else's appearance, but the duo of the mans over sized eyebrows and teeth even made Gajeel stare. He never said anything about it, but Gajeel was always a little caught off guard by the mans appearance. It would be a lie if Gajeel said he actually enjoyed the mans company, for some reason Krov took it upon himself to firmly plant his lips to Gajeel's ass and it definitely rubbed him the wrong way. He didn't know what was more annoying the fact that Krov refused to call him anything but "Prince Gajeel" or the frequency he actually said it. Gajeel didn't exactly need the reminder that he was a prince every time his name was called, but most people did it anyway. Honestly he was sure that he had been called "prince" rather than his real name his whole life and Gajeel found it absolutely annoying. It was even worse when him and his three bothers were in the same room together. Every time the word was said all four of their heads would lift up and by the end of the night they would all end up ignoring the word entirely unless one of their names followed. After the second time of telling the man named Krov that it was "just Gajeel" he gave up and decided the guy was an idiot, anything short of beating it into his head wasn't going to work, and Gajeel really didn't want to deal with the repercussions of beating up one of his body guards.

Even though he found Krov annoying the man wasn't all that terrible to be around, Gajeel wasn't the only one who was creeped out by him. It was pretty amusing to see the girls who tried to approach Gajeel flipping their hair and batting their eyelashes practically run in the other direction when Krov got to them. It was funny to see the shock on their faces when Krov would stop the women in their path and throw out pick up lines that were almost crude enough to make Gajeel blush, so at least he was good for something. Gajeel was somewhere between chocking on his water, and wanting to climb across the table to choke him when he mentioned how "Smoking" he thought Gajeel's mom was. "Of course you wouldn't notice since she's your mom and all, but she looks great for her age and I'm sure she has another couple good years in her. Who knows, maybe she'll fall for my charm and I can be your new daddy." Gajeel had to tell him to shut it before he killed him or threw up, or both.

Usually a well placed glare and a scowl or two was enough to shut someone up, Krov on the other hand was usually unfazed by Gajeel's bad attitude and made it a point to try to cheer him up despite the fact it usually put him in a worse mood. If that wasn't annoying enough, Krov made it a point to constantly mention and give him advice about his future wife. "Come on Prince Gajeel, don't be modest, is she hot?" Gajeel rolled his eyes and ignored the question for the dozenth time, just because Krov was his body guard didn't mean he was entitled to know everything about his personal life and everyone else was smart enough to figure out that the subject of his engagement was off limits. "You can't keep it a secret forever you know, and even if she's a dog she's still from the north so at least she won't be a pain in your ass." Gajeel refused to take the bait on that one, he was either trying to piss him off or make him curious but he was more annoyed than anything.

"Everyone knows women of the north are great wives, its pretty much all they know how to do! A buddy of mine married a girl from there a few years ago, and she's a dream come true. I'm jealous! She cooks, she cleans, she never complains, she takes care of the brats and she never asks for help. He comes home every night to a home cooked meal and she doesn't even ask him to help her with anything." Krov ran his fingers through his hair and rolled his eyes, Gajeel could feel the envy rolling off of him, but he didn't care enough to ask about details about his friend. "That's the route I should have took, the minute I married my old lady she made my life a living hell. I fell for a pretty face when I was young and we got pregnant, so I thought I was doing the right thing by marrying her. But its been five years and we actually hate each other, I work all day, every day so she doesn't have to. But the minute I get home she's throwing a fit because I didn't help with the dishes or left the toilet seat up or something like that, all she does is bitch and moan and cry. I can't help but envy you're still young, you're single, you have the rest of your life ahead of you, i don't know why you would be bothering to get married now, unless she's guaranteed to be perfect."

Gajeel definitely thought Krov was a pig, he didn't actually care that he was one, but what kind of man with a wife ran around town chasing skirts the way that he did. They had this conversation at least once a day, and Gajeel would ignore him. Gajeel didn't want to hear why virgins were so much better, or how Krov thought the best way to lay down the law was. But Gajeel could actually feel his blood boiling, when Krov mentioned his father. "Why the hell do you think your dad married your mom? He wanted a good wife that would look good twenty years down the line, and believe me, she certainly does." Gajeel inhaled and held his breathe and tried to count to ten, but his rage didn't even fade a little bit when he finally got to the number, but he knew he was probably going to regret this.

"You don't even know what they fuck yer talking about. My dad didn't marry my mom because she was a pretty face and all the other bull shit yer spoutin. My mother was the last heir to the throne and she married her fucking bodyguard, but don't get any idea's over there you're definitely not my type. My mom has never been a fucking trophy wife, if anything my old man was her trophy husband and he even took her last name because of it. Maybe if you stopped talking about women like they're shit your wife wouldn't hate you so much, and what kind of animal doesn't put the fucking toilet seat down? Go ahead and fall in balls first and you'll see why she's bitching so much. I'm sure she would love to hear about what you fucking do here all day, because you work so hard with me you don't you? Go ahead and switch places with her for a day, because I'm positive running after a brat, and cooking and cleaning for your ass is a hell of a lot harder than watching my back in a fucking fortress." Gajeel knew that the last conversation with him wasn't exactly pleasant, but a few years ago it would have been way worse. Gajeel was lucky he didn't have to face Krov after that. He didn't exactly feel guilty about what he said, but Gajeel didn't want to have to deal with that hurt puppy look he gave him for the rest of that day.

* * *

Gajeel was pretty skeptical when he found out that his newest bodyguard was actually recommended by Pantherlily, as much as he loved and respected Lily he knew that meant either the guy was a total hard ass, or it was going to be somebody Gajeel knew. It was just Gajeel's luck that the guy just happened to be both, they had only been working together a week and Gajeel had already been threatened to be "punched in the dick" if he even thought about trying to run off and ditch him. Even though Gajeel originally laughed at the threat, the thought alone was enough to make any man cringe."Really Redfox? This is what you do?" The man in question was standing at the edge of his bed blocking his view of the movie he just turned on, and giving him a look Gajeel could only describe as disappointed. "It's not even eight on a Friday night, and you're sitting here eating ice cream in fucking bunny slippers with your hair up?" Gajeel rolled his eyes at his outrage, who the hell was this ass hole to be judging him. So what if he wanted to unwind a little, he had a rough week and Gajeel currently pillow hugging this early meant his new bodyguard could go out and do whatever the fuck he wanted. "Gajeel you're fucking twenty, either your going to get out of bed and come have a drink with me willingly, or I'm gonna drag you to the bar by that terrible fucking bun you have on the top of your head."

Some things never change, even when Laxus was trying to be nice, he was still kind of a dick. Gajeel scoffed and rolled his eyes, all he wanted to do was go to bed early and mind his own business. But he was probably going to end up doing something that he didn't want to do, he knew from experience that Laxus was too much of a sadist to take no for an answer, but Gajeel wasn't one to be bossed around so he was going to at least pretend to put up a fight. Gajeel took another bite of his ice cream and sunk farther into his bed. He could tell by the way Laxus was glaring at him that he losing his patience and that just made Gajeel want to irk him more, he pulled off one of his slippers that were definitely foxes and not bunny's and threw it at his head, it was a pretty satisfying to watch it bounce off Laxus's forehead before watching his attitude go from annoyed to pissed. "Fuck off Dreyar! This is my me time, and stop judging me for it." Gajeel knew he was playing a dangerous game right now since Laxus had a worse temper than him, but he wasn't in the mood to go drinking with a bunch of people who Gajeel knew didn't like him.

Gajeel was aware of the tradition, anytime a group of soldiers returned home everyone would buy them drinks to celebrate their safe return and to mourn anyone who didn't make it back. Gajeel ended up tagging along with Lily from time to time if he was bored enough, but Gajeel never felt welcomed and he didn't see a point in ruining their celebration by showing up to a place he already didn't want to go. When he got home from his trip with Lily he ended up taking advantage of all of the free drinks and getting so drunk that he Laxus and Lily had to carry him home and he was in bed for days. He tried to tell himself that he was drinking that night in celebration, rather than trying to forget the fact he just found out he would be marrying some strange girl before the year was over. Gajeel had trained with Laxus a hundred times over the past year, but he never thought that he would be fast enough to jump on him and pin his hands over his head before Gajeel could knew what was happening. "Get the fuck off!" Gajeel was trying and failing to squirm free, he was usually pretty good at getting out of holds like this, but he was at a pretty big disadvantage since Laxus was the one who did most of his training, and it was pretty hard to get far with two hundred pounds of idiot sitting on top of you.

"Look here princess, you're either going to get up, walk into that fancy closet over there, and put on a decent shirt willingly. Or I'm gonna actually stick your dick in this ice cream right here, and find out if that rumor going around about your it being pierced is true. Either way you're going to pay your fucking respects to the team that just got home." Gajeel couldn't hold back the growl that escaped his throat, he didn't want to give Laxus the satisfaction of letting him know just how pissed he was. Every time Gajeel tried to move, Laxus would tighten his grip on his wrists and the weight of Laxus alone was enough to make moving his lower half close to impossible. Gajeel couldn't remember the last time he had been pinned like this, when he first started training with Laxus, Gajeel would just have to tap out to survive. But it was a year later Gajeel's pride wouldn't let him do it now." Fine. If you wanna stay in bed so bad, we can just...do this instead."

* * *

Even though this wasn't Gajeel's first time, he wasn't the most experienced kisser in the world. If he knew a little more about romance, he might have noticed the signs. Shock would be an understatement if Gajeel were to describe how he felt when Laxus started kissing him, the thought of being kissed by another man never even crossed his mind. If somebody told him that Laxus's constant teasing was his way of flirting with him, Gajeel would have called them a fucking liar. The more Gajeel thought about it, the more it made sense now that it was happening. He always thought it was a little weird that he would catch Laxus staring at his lips from time to time, but Gajeel just wrote it off as Laxus being curious about his piercings. Even though it had been a couple years since the last time he had been kissed romantically the sensation was pretty much the same, Gajeel copied what he did a few years ago when a girl got a little too brave and turned his head to break the kiss. Gajeel unlaced his fingers that at some point become tangled with Laxus's and chalked it up to Laxus's fucked up way of messing with him. Gajeel refused to meet his gaze, he didn't want Laxus to know that he actually got to him, but punching him felt pretty good.

* * *

Okay so nobody guessed that it would be a Gajaxus kiss in this chapter lol, but I still will be posting the next chapter early. Also I'm switching my tumblr account from Chesxca to Chesxca-c at the end of the month. Thanks as always for reading. -Love Chesxca


	12. Chapter 12

This is an Jellal chapter, a whole lot of history and a peek inside his head of the King of the Ice Kingdom.

* * *

Jellal was a busy man, despite the fact people thought he sat around on a throne all day, counting his riches, running a country was actually a very hard job. When he was a child he couldn't wait to be King, he would dress up in his fathers clothes and boss his sisters around until they cried and then his mother would scold him for it and remind him that his younger sisters were precious and needed him to take care of them. Before his mother died Jellal hated that responsibility, he would often find himself moping through Juvia's tea parties and reading more books than he could count to Levy and about forty of her favorite stuffed animals. His mother died giving birth to Wendy when he was ten, Juvia was eight, and Levy was five. Jellal was the oldest, and a lot of the time he felt more like a father than a brother, he found himself volunteering to do the same tasks he used to complain about. Jellal's father ignored his sisters most of the time, and would yell at him for spending too much time with them. He tried to convince himself that his father loved his sisters in his own way, but he heard from his own fathers mouth that daughters were useless until they were old enough to marry and then they were only worth as much as they were traded for.

Jellal hated his father for a long time because of that, and he couldn't even remember ever seeing his father hold Wendy. Jellal ignored his fathers yelling and soon became and expert at nail painting, hair braiding, and he was even the one who taught Wendy how to take her first steps. He went from admiring his father to vowing to never be anything like him, he spent three years hating his own father and then he was gone too. Even though he hated his father, a bad parent was still better than no parent, Jellal was thirteen with a country to run and three younger sisters he was responsible for. His father never showed an interest in his sisters but when Jellal became responsible for setting up all their dance classes, tutors, and doctors appointments he realized how much his father actually did. Their father was never a very hands on parent, but he made sure they all had the best of the best and Jellal sometimes struggled with keeping up with all of their schedules.

As his sisters got older he noticed the longing stares and prying eyes of men wherever they went, as much as he didn't like the responsibility he had towards them, the thought of one day of his sisters just not being there broke his heart in a way he himself didn't understand. The oldest Juvia was a hopeless romantic she always dreamed of some man taking her away and showing her the world and having a huge wedding. Levy on the other hand seemed more afraid of men and would use him as a human shield to avoid the men at balls. Jellal was used to the requests for Juvia's hand in marriage, by the time she was sixteen more than a thousand men asked Juvia would swoon from one man to another until she realized he wasn't the one and tell Jellal to deny her request. The first time a man asked for Levy's hand in marriage the man was already in his forties while Levy was only eleven, Jellal nearly had the man executed for looking at his sister like that and instead had him exiled when he found out he was trying to get his younger sister alone. Wendy was finally of an age where men started asking about her, but Jellal made it very clear that he wouldn't be taking any marriage requests for his sisters until they were at least sixteen. Jellal was well aware that girls married as young as fourteen in this part of the world, but he no desire for any of his sisters to be wive's or mothers before their childhoods were over.

* * *

Taking care of his sisters was hard enough, but trying to run a country without a King ended up with lots of hours of arguing and deliberating with a board. Legally Jellal coronation from crown prince to king wasn't until his twenty first birthday, but without another possible heir to the throne there was eight long years of Jellal having to sit down with a board of elders every time a decision needed to be made and he was often times outnumbered. Now as a king the same board could question his decisions but things were ultimately his choice and his alone. He thought he would enjoy the change, he was a king and his word was law, but sometimes the outcome of his decisions came back to bite him in the ass and he learned over time to be less reckless. Most men his age spent their time drinking and chasing women, Jellal on the other hand couldn't remember the last time someone didn't need something from him.

Jellal rarely ever got a moment to himself, even when someone didn't need him for one thing or another he was still always surrounded by his two personal guards, but their presence was a welcomed one that he barely noticed most of the time. He didn't eat alone, he didn't sleep alone, and when the two them were off duty he had four guards to take their place. Many people thought he was a fool because women were considered weak and fragile things, but the two women he kept at his side were more capable than any of the royal guards under his employment. They didn't go through the normal employment process Jellal usually had his castle staff go through of interviews of saying the right thing and showing you can pick up a bow or sword properly. He met Ultear when she had a knife at his throat after killing six of his guards to get there, someone offered her a pocket full of gold to the do the job for them, and after Jellal disarmed her and a night in the dungeon Jellal offered her a job rather than executing her treason.

Jellal met Meredy when she broke into the royal vault and her pockets were already full before anyone even noticed her presence. She tried sneaking out through Juvia's room but his sister begged the girl to turn herself in so she wouldn't get hurt and then begged Jellal not to punish her because the girl was obviously just scared and hungry. Jellal knew how to take care if himself, but the fact he was guarded by two women who succeeded in getting past all of his guards and breaking into his castle gave him the piece of mind that he never had to watch his own back from outside threats and the fact they were easily underestimated made them so much deadlier.

He knew on the other side of the door both girls were making fun of him for being modest and shy, the bathroom was the one place he didn't allow them to follow him and he didn't even allow a servant in here with him. Jellal was a grown man, he didn't need assistance bathing himself, and the last thing he wanted was girls running around gossiping about what their king looked like in the nude. He didn't usually let anyone in the room with him when he was soaking in the tub, but today he was making an exception for Levy's personal maid who requested an audience with him today claiming it was urgent. This was the only time he could fit her in today, but she was still going to have to sit by the door.

* * *

Jellal was no longer surprised when people were nervous around him, he didn't think he was intimidating, but people still tripped over their words when they spoke to him, and then apologized for it when they noticed how strangely they were acting. The woman named Laki worked in the castle for nearly a decade and she still ran in the other direction when she saw him. If it wasn't the weekly update he requested on Levy she avoided talking to him all together, so Jellal found it strange that she not only decided to seek him out, but agreed to meet with him in his current state on undress. "Talk to me." He didn't have to see her to know his words startled her, but they had already been sitting in an awkward silence for a few minutes now, and Jellal wasn't sacrificing the only half hour to himself he got a day for her to waste his time.

Jellal was pretty sure he already knew what the woman named Laki wanted to talk to him about, this week alone all three of Levy's bodyguards came to him with the same concern and he was sure Laki was about to give him the same information for the fourth time since Sunday. But he still listened to her concerns, no matter how busy he was he wouldn't miss something like that so easily. "Miss Laki, how long have you been working under my little rabbit? About eight years? Nine? "Jellal rarely asked a question he didn't know an answer to, his sister was nine when he decided she needed a female touch in her life. At twelve Juvia was already in training to be a woman and had friends her age to rely on. But he would often find the less social Levy digging through their mothers things and Jellal just didn't have the answer to the many questions his younger sister had. "You're the first person Leverette's opened up to, so you certainly know her well enough that her locking herself in her room is hardly rare."

Jellal knew she meant well, it was never a question that Laki cared deeply for his sister. But every time Levy had a fever, or scrapped her knee, or didn't want to eat dinner he heard about it and he was sure this was another case of Laki over reacting. Levy wasn't a child anymore, and Jellal was convinced that Laki was having a hard time with the fact she wouldn't be taking care of his sister much longer and was coming up with any reason to postpone the wedding and Levy ultimately leaving them both. "Laki, how old were you when you got married? If I remember correctly you were sixteen, right? So two years younger than Levy will be on her wedding day, are you saying my sister isn't incapable of doing at eighteen of what you did at sixteen?" Jellal already knew the answer to that too, he already knew that Laki and Levy's guards had been meeting in secret for weeks now, so he knew these conversations were coming sooner or later. Where they failed was thinking he wouldn't notice, their stories were too rehearsed, too perfect for it to be a coincidence. The guards knew things that only Laki should know, and Laki knew things she wasn't there for.

"Is there a reason you don't want my sister to get married? Or is there something else I need to know? Are you in love with her too, her bodyguards sure as hell are. I have half the mind to fire them all, but by the time i replace them Levy will already be half way around the world." Jellal knew his sister would never forgive him if he fired the four people she was closest too in the castle, especially for her last couple months here. He decided to watch them more carefully in case there was some insane plan for her to escape or something like that."She's getting married, so whatever you and her guards are conspiring, stops now. If i hear another word about this, there will be consequences, now get out." Jellal rarely lost his temper, but he did not like being played for a fool. It would be one thing if his sister actually put her staff up to it, but Levy wasn't the type of person to do something like that. She handled her problems on her own, and she already made sure Jellal knew how she felt about this arrangement. He didn't know if the knot in his stomach was from guilt or grief or something else all together, but he learned a long time ago that all of his decisions held power and he was going to have to learn to live with them.


	13. Chapter 13

This chapter got a little long so i had to snip it in half, there are trigger warnings for both verbal and child abuse in it. So... There's some of that.

* * *

Just because a place was familiar, didn't always mean that it was also comforting. Levy was more than well acquainted with the castles infirmary as a child, and she honestly couldn't say it was a place she remembered fondly. Once a year for a physical was usually more than enough for her these days, any other illness she would fight off in the comfort of her room with a mixture of tissues, tea, and a her books to keep her company. Her small size as a child never stopped Levy from running after her older siblings, her mother would always find her covered in dirt, scrapped knees and bruises when she would decided she wanted to follow Jellal around for the day and even if he and his friends tried to be gentle with her she would still find a way to hurt herself. Trying to copy what her sister was doing often ended up with her fingers getting nicked and burned and it seemed like her mother was dragging her to the infirmary daily to repair the damage Levy somehow seemed to do to herself. She remembered sitting on her mothers lap and frowning every time she was touched with the stinging medicine and her mother would say that scars are how warriors tell their stories and they had no place on pretty little girls.

It wasn't always so bad, the scraped knees and bruises weren't always so bad when you were treated with sweets and ice. It was when she was around five that Levy went from disliking this place to being absolutely terrified and hating it. She remembered Jellal waking her up in the middle, and she pretended to be asleep because she liked it when Jellal carried her. He never told her when he knew she was faking it, her giggles were usually enough to give her away but Jellal always carried her anyway because he knew it made her happy. She remembered talking to her mom and holding Wendy for the first time, who was so little all she could barely open her eyes and would cry if Levy put her down. She didn't remember falling asleep, but she remembered waking up in Jellal's room the next morning with Juvia and not understanding why he was telling them that they wouldn't be able to see their mom anymore. She even remembered the look on Jellal's face when she asked him where their mother went, because hours ago she was telling them she loved them and that they had to take care of Wendy. She remembered refusing to leave the room Wendy was staying in the first couple weeks because she was so tiny and her mom told her to protect her and Levy didn't want her baby sister to disappear too. Even at the age of five Levy understood that her sister Wendy would have to grow up without a mom, and she would have to teach Wendy everything she remembered her mother telling her, even if she didn't have their mother very long herself.

Levy knew she wasn't her father's favorite child, he tolerated her at best, but things got a lot worst after her mom died and she would often end up in the same infirmary she hated so much. When Wendy was finally at the age she started walking she would always get into things the way babies do, and she would often make a mess one of her siblings had to clean up before their father saw it. Levy couldn't ever recall her father ever holding or even acknowledging her younger sister even existed, but whenever Wendy got into something he would blow up on whichever one of them was supposed to be watching her. She remembered her father making Jellal run laps around the Garden until he threw up, men were supposed to be strong and if he couldn't get a baby to do what he wanted her to do, how was he supposed to lead a country one day. Her father made Juvia scrub the floors all night with a toothbrush when Wendy threw her food on the floor while Juvia was feeding her. What kind of mother was Juvia going to be one day, if she couldn't get a baby to eat, so her father made her refine her skills as a wife.

Levy would often pay more attention to whatever book she was reading, instead of what Wendy was doing when she was supposed to be watching her. Spending too much time reading was enough to get her scolded by her father, he often told her there was no point in a girl learning more than she was supposed to. Wendy ended up breaking one of their fathers favorite figurines, it was small and Levy thought that he wouldn't notice, she ended up hiding it under her bed and lying to him when he asked her about it. She remembered her father calling him into his study a week later, with the broken pieces of the figurine sitting on the desk. "Leverette, I found this in your room, do you have any clue how it got there?" Levy knew lying was wrong, but she didn't want to get in trouble so she told him she didn't know how it was broken, or how it got all the way in her room. When her mother used to catch her in a lie, she would sit her down and tell her that lying is wrong and she would have to apologize about whatever she did and the lying.

Her father on the other hand decided to teach her a lesson she never forgot, she was only six at the time but she still remembered the way her cheek stung and swallowing the blood in her mouth when her father slapped her when he asked her about it the second time. "Leverette, you've shamed me by being weak, and you've shamed me by being born female, you will not be a liar too. I only needed one daughter so she could one day marry favorably and somehow i was ended up with three... Do you know what that means child? It means you're a spare, and Gwendolyn is your spare, and spares need to learn to not outlive their usefulness. Do you understand?" Levy knew better than to lie to him again so she answered his question honestly and told him no. " All that reading and you're still stupid, I guess it can't be helped since you'll one day be a woman, but at least you seem to be able to learn something. I want you to listen well because I will not be warning you again." Even though she repeated his words back to him at the age of six Levy still didn't understand, it wasn't her fault she wasn't born a boy, but her father hated her because of it, and she believed him when he told her that he would send her and Wendy away if anything like this ever happened again.

As bad as she thought her punishment for lying to him was, she thought her punishment for allowing Wendy to break something was even worse. She tried not to cry, but watching her father throw all her favorite books in the fire place was more than her little heart could handle. Her father had to stop her from jumping in after the storybook her mother used to read to her from. No matter how much she begged him to let her go and as much as she tried to pull away he just held on to her tighter until there was nothing but ashes left and bruises around her wrist from pulling too hard. "Was that book worth more to you than your life? I need you useful, and beautiful until I find a husband for you. Until then stay in your place, and do as your told." It was almost three days later that some realized she was complaining about her arm hurting because it was pulled out of place and Jellal had to carry her to the infirmary kicking and screaming because this was where her mother died and she didn't want to die too.

* * *

"You're not going to cry, are you? That's pretty pathetic even for someone like you." The question pulled Levy out of her thoughts, sure she was nervous, but she told herself that she wasn't going to cry. Not about this, and not in front of her. Levy understood why she couldn't come to something like this with one of her normal body guards, all three of them were male and she couldn't exactly be sitting in front of them like this is a thin paper gown that barely covered what's important. But, Levy thought sending Ultear in their place was just her brothers way of being cruel and unusual. She would have preferred Laki, even though she wasn't a bodyguard she would at least been supportive. Ultear seemed to make it her personal goal to make Levy feel worse than she already did, but Levy did a pretty good job at ignoring her snide comments and drowning out whatever cruel thing Ultear was cooking up. Levy would have even preferred Meredy, they were closer and age and she didn't hate her the way Ultear did, but Jellal wanted to send someone more experienced so Levy was going to have to deal with her until this whole thing was over.

"Look princess," Levy hated the way Ultear spit her title like it was an insult, she knew Ultear didn't like her, when she wasn't ignoring her she was making fun of her and Levy definitely preferred her when she was quiet. "the old lady should be the one crying she's got the rough job to do. All you have to do is lie on that royal back of yours and spread your rich little legs. You could probably use the practice being in that position, I'm sure your husband would appreciate you knowing your place." Levy tried to ignore the lump in her throat and pretend like Ultear's comment didn't get to her. The thought of being a mother anytime soon was something Levy tried her best not to think about until she had to. But the thought of being intimate with a stranger sometime soon was enough to make her want to throw up. She wouldn't give Ultear the satisfaction of giving her a dirty look or telling her to shut up.

Levy didn't know if Ultear just hated her personally, or if she just hated nobility and everything it stood for. Levy tried to understand her anger, from what she knew about Ultear is that she used to kill people for money and Levy couldn't even imagine what went on in the girls life to make her so desperate to do such a terrible thing just to be able to eat. Sometimes Levy wondered if other people hated her because of that, Levy never had to worry about when her next meal was coming or where she would be sleeping at night, and she knew Ultear's dislike of her was because Levy had everything handed to her, unlike Ultear who had to work for everything in life.

Levy knew Ultear's current jabs towards her were more about her jealousy about the wedding, it was all anyone talked about lately and Levy being the center attention gave Ultear more material to work with. Levy never said anything about the very obvious physical relationship between Ultear and her brother because it wasn't any of her business, but she knew that Ultear had a desire to be queen more than anything and Levy was getting exactly what Ultear wanted. She would have probably pitied Ultear more if the girl actually loved her brother, but it was obvious to everyone that Ultear's only desire was to be powerful and Jellal would probably end up with a knife in his back if he put her in a position where she didn't need him anymore. As Jellal's bodyguard Ultear needed him alive to get the things she wanted, as a wife Levy didn't put it past Ultear to want to be the weeping widow of a king. "Its better to lie with my husband, than someone who doesn't want me." Levy didn't know if she actually meant the words that she said, but it was more than enough to get a dirty look from a suddenly quiet Ultear.

* * *

Levy could feel herself jump when the door to her exam room opened, she was almost thankful for the break of tension in the room before she realized that things were about to get worse instead of better. Levy only had a handful of conversations with her mothers twin, and in that time Levy thought the older woman always seemed to be in a bad mood, but now there was no mistaking it. If looks could cause a person harm she was sure Ultear wouldn't survive this current encounter. "My appointment today is with WITH my young niece Leverette, not some vulgar wench who follows my nephew around." Levy watched the stare down between Ultear and Porlyusica when her aunt kicked the older girl out of the room. She was both relieved by the fact Ultear wouldn't be here for her exam, and more nervous because she knew it was time for it to happen and she wasn't ready for it. "I don't know what I find more sickening, that girls mouth, or your lack of backbone." Just seeing Porlyusica was enough to make Levy uncomfortable, but seeing an older angrier version of her mother glare at her made her feel worse than she already did. "There is a fine line between being kind, and being weak, and there is no room for that weakness when you become a queen." Porlyusica even sounded like her mother, even though she had never heard her mother raise her voice or spit words with venom the way that Porlyusica did it was still almost like talking to a ghost.

"I'm not saying this to try to upset you, or make you cry. But, you're going to need much thicker skin to stand at Gajeel's side." Not many people openly used her fiancé's name besides Charla, most people just referred to him as "the prince" hearing his name reminded her that he existed, for the longest time it was just an elephant in the room she was ignoring until she had to come face to face with it. Being reminded that he was actually a person she was going to have to deal with soon made the whole thing so much more unbearable. "Do you know how many people already hate you and they haven't even met you yet. You're a foreigner, a stranger, a mystery, a nobody, and you're on the fast track to become queen of one the most powerful Kingdoms in the world. And you've already made many enemies because of it. Do you have any idea how many women want to be in your place? There have been countless Princesses and Queens of more powerful nations that have been flat out rejected by your husband to be, and believe me when I say people are beyond pissed that he's agreed to marry some unknown girl from a kingdom as small as yours without even meeting you."

Levy didn't know why those things were falling on her shoulder, she knew when her engagement was announced most of her kingdom was happy for her, or at least excited that there would now be a close alliance between the two kingdoms because of the wedding. Levy never went out looking for a husband or tried to steal her fiance from those girls who wanted to be with him so badly that they hate her just for existing, Levy just signed the agreement her brother asked her to, and even then she knew she didn't really have a choice. "People can hate me if they want to, its not going to change anything. If blaming me is what makes them feel better, why should I care if they do or not. My own father hated me, a bunch of strangers mad at me because they want to be with my husband isn't really going to bother me that much."

"The two of you really are complete opposites. Gajeel would have knocked out the teeth of anyone who said something half as rude as that to him." Levy never asked questions about her husband to be so she didn't know too much about him. But, between what Charla said about him and Porlyusica's stories she couldn't help but think that he was prone to violence. "There's going to be countless girls who are going to openly oppose you like the one outside this , if any of them dare have the nerve to disrespect you to your face the way that she just did, you need to go for their throat. I don't mean you need to be violent rash, just because that's the way Gajeel handles things doesn't mean its correct. But you're smart enough to know when someone means you ill will, you either get yourself out of the conversation or handle it before it gets out of line. I understand that you hold your tongue because that's how you were taught that women should behave, but never be afraid to stand up for yourself."

"You look like my mother, but you don't act like her at all." Her mother was always sweet and smiling from what Levy remembered about her, Porlyusica always seemed angry and fed up with everyone. Levy started to think about all the books she read about twins and how there was always a good one and a bad one, she didn't really think Porlyusica was the evil version of her mother, but she was definitely mean. Levy had been wanting to ask her aunt for weeks what her relationship was like with her mother, she knew her mother was a twin but she could never remember hearing anything about her, but meeting Porlyusica for the first time was still a bit a shock because the way Porlyusica carried herself was the opposite of her mother who would dance with her barefoot in the garden and change her voice to match the characters of whatever book she was reading.

"Your mother was as strong as she was weak, she married a man she hated so I could pursue my dreams. And had four beautiful children who look like their father but are none of the monster he was. You are Grandeeney's daughter, you are more than strong enough to deal with anything that comes in your path."


	14. Chapter 14

This chapter is a lot darker than my last one, so there are a lot a triggers. But telling you the triggers would be a giant spoiler, so read at your own risk. I didn't really do much editing besides running it through spell check so please forgive my mistakes. Like the last chapter this one is digging into the past but well be moving on from this in the next chapter.

* * *

Just looking at her aunt was eerie, it gave her a wave of nostalgia that just didn't feel right. The memories she did have of her mother were few and far, her father ripped down all the portraits of her after her death. When Levy was still young and naive enough to believe her parents were in love she would ask her father to tell her stories about her mother. Her father seemed to enjoy her reaction when he would tell her how weak, and useless and selfish she was. "Your mother was worthless, just like you are. She died because she gave birth to daughters instead of sons, girls steal your beauty, your strength and your health. When I find a man foolish enough to take you off my hands, you will give him sons. Do you understand? Any daughter you give life to, take it before she weakens you. Girls are a curse, and when you feed and nurture that curse it takes your power away. Your mother was too weak to take the lives of her own children, each one of you made her weaker, less beautiful, less useful, and that child you and Juvia carry on your hip so lovingly is what finally killed your mother. Can you still love Gwendolyn knowing that? She took your mothers life and now you have to take care of her. Does it make you angry Leverette? Do you wish your sister was never born? Do you wish you could just make her go away?"

"No father, I love my baby sister."

It gave Levy chills to think about it now, but her mother told her to take care of Wendy for a reason. She could recall more than one occasion where her younger sister took a tumble down the stairs or got her hands on something dangerous when was alone with their father, he always blamed it on being too busy to pay attention to what a child was doing, but it happened too often for it to just be accidents. After that conversation with her father Levy did her best to make sure Wendy never left her side, she didn't realize it right away but her father had a very similar conversation in the past. It was after her seventh birthday, her father gave her a white rabbit like the one in Alice in Wonderland. "A little rabbit, for my little rabbit." Like any child she didn't realize how much care an animal needed, and when her bunny would chew on things and make a mess on the floor her father would punish her for it. "Aren't you tired of cleaning up shit? You're a princess, not a stable girl, this is beneath a child of mine. Or is that the life you want? For me to give you to a farmer, that way you can clean up shit all day? Don't you just wish you didn't have to clean up shit anymore?"

"No father, I don't like it. I'm sorry my rabbits naughty." The next morning she found out that her rabbit somehow got out of her room and made it to the stables three stories below where the dogs got to it. She didn't sleep that night after her father asked her about Wendy, she spent weeks worried that she was going to wake up without her little sister and her father would find a way to blame her for it.

* * *

"You don't need to hold your tongue around me child, I know you have questions, I would be more surprised if you did not. But, I can't promise you that these answers will bring you peace. Every part of me wants to shield you from the truth, to think of you as a child. But, it's hard to treat you as a child when you're just a few short months from your own wedding, and sure to have children of your own soon. I know my sister wished she could be there, to see the first one of her children marry, to see what kind of woman you've become." Levy didn't understand why everyone talked about her wedding like it was a good thing, like she was happy, like she was in love. Like she was the blushing bride everyone expected her to be. She was marrying a stranger, one who hadn't even bothered to introduce himself to her. To send her a gift, or a letter would be better than the silence she was getting. She couldn't help but feel betrayed by her brother, he kept the fact he was looking for her a husband a secret until it was already done. And asking about it was just like pulling teeth, he would tell her that everything was already taken care of, and just dismiss her without a real answer. She knew Jellal had every right to choose her husband, but it didn't sting any less that he did it without talking to her first.

"You're engagement to my father... Was it an arranged one just like mine?" It wasn't the real question she wanted to ask, she wished her aunt would explain herself since Jellal wouldn't. How could her aunt take part in arranging her future marriage, when her aunt fled from her own wedding. How could she allow her younger sister take her place, as much as Levy hated everything about her situation, she wouldn't dream of letting Wendy take her place. She wasn't even angry with Juvia for leaving when she did, her sister must have had her reasons and the fact that Jellal never looked for her meant he knew why she left. "My father was a lot of things, but he was never stupid. Did he know you two were switching places and just agreed to it? Or did he just not care which one of you he married?" Her aunt looked tired, the usually frown her face made her look angry but right now she just looked sad. She sat in the chair across from the exam table Levy was sitting on and sighed. Porlyusica was usually a very well spoken person but now she seemed to be struggling to find her words.

"There isn't a quick way or an easy way to answer that question. I didn't know Grandeeney replaced me, until your older brother was born. I didn't understand why she did it, and I was angry with her for a long time because of it. But I guess it was because Grandeeney loved me more than she hated Faust." Levy was sure she was imagining the teary look in her aunts eyes, she was usually so stoic and calm, to see her show any type of emotion felt like an invasion of privacy and she regretted asking her aunt about the past. " I was a year younger than you when your father forced himself on me. You know there's no justice for such a thing here, he was twice my age, a King, women were constantly throwing themselves at his feet for a change to be with him. Who would believe me if I told them otherwise. I didn't tell anyone for a long time, I was too ashamed. I planned on taking it to the grave with me, until the child inside me started growing. When my father found out he threatened to disown me for being a whore, rumors spread and I was shunned for being unwed and pregnant. Faust came to my fathers door to claim me and our child, my father was ecstatic. His daughter married to a King, my marriage to your father wasn't an arranged one it was forced. My father would have disowned me if I didn't go through with the wedding, and Faust told me he'd cut out my child if I dared embarrass him at the ceremony."

"Grandeeney was the only one who helped me, the night before the wedding she helped me stowaway on a boat an escape. I was a young girl, who was alone and pregnant. I used all of my savings to make it to the Iron Kingdom where there's no extradition and I would be safe from my father and yours. What I didn't know was that someone noticed I was missing, so your mother took my place to ensure my escape. I spent my first couple weeks there begging and sleeping on the streets, a man named Makarov took pity on me and hired me as a nanny for his young grandson he was raising alone. When my son was born, I loved him at right no matter how evil his father was. I couldn't blame a child for the sins of his father, and I kept him a secret from even my own sister. Your father just assumed I terminated the pregnancy or I killed his child to spite him, I couldn't allow that man to ever get his claws in my son. You can consider him your half brother, or your cousin, or both. Bickslow is a soldier in the Iron Kingdom's army, and he wanted to use this opportunity to meet you and your siblings, I allowed it under the condition he didn't mention your relation to each other, but I'm sure he introduced himself."

* * *

Levy could remember meeting a soldier while she was eating lunch in the garden weeks ago, Laki always brought her more food than she could ever eat so she invited him to have lunch with her. She thought it was odd that someone from the south had hair almost as blue as hers, but she thought it would be rude to ask him about it and his friend pulled him away before she could really talk to him. " I remember him... He told me my name was too long, so he was just going to call me Lady L instead of Leverette or Levy." Levy originally thought the exchange was a little weird, but she just thought it was just the sense of humor of the south to give people unwanted nicknames. Really it was just her older brother teasing her for the first time. "I still don't understand... When my mother knew you were safe, why didn't she just leave?"

"My sister did her best to hide her situation even from me, your father was livid when he found out he had been tricked by Grandeeney. Instead of admitting he had been bested by a woman or killing her, he kept her as a slave and tortured her until the day she died. He chained her in her room until Jellal was born, everyone believed their queen was just in poor health or she was just shy. Once your brother was born he allowed her out enough to care for him, but she still was never allowed to leave the castle grounds. I didn't see my sister again until after Juvia was born. By then she wasn't Grandeeney anymore, she was just a shell. He kept her well enough to get pregnant, but a mixture of his temper and her poor health resulted in many of her children never making it to birth. Faust constantly taunted her, told her she could leave, but she would have to leave her children behind and that was out of the question for her. She loved the four of you and when she died, I begged your father to let me take you girls. Jellal was his heir, he would have never gave him up, but he treated you girls like you were his pets. He told me that if I wanted to be your mother so bad, I would have to marry him, and I don't even want to think about what he would have done to me if I ever agreed to such a thing."

"I knew he was a monster... But, i thought he was like that because he just hated me." As a child she didn't understand why her father hated her so much, she tried everything to make him like her and it always seemed like he hated her more. As much as she wanted to hug her aunt she told herself not to be weak right now, her eyes betrayed her and she could feel her tears stain her cheeks when she tried to process everything she just learned. She wanted to cry for her aunt, for her mother, for her siblings that never had a chance to be born. But she did her best to try her tears and remembered why she was actually here. "I'm sorry for bringing up something so painful, I don't need to hear anymore."

Porlyusica's stoic mask replaced itself almost as quickly as it slipped, Levy looked for any kind of emotion in her aunts face and she found none like she usually did. She sat in silence as she watched her aunt set up the prep table next to her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what everything was for or not. "Lie down with both hands behind your head." She tried to keep her breathing normal and hide the fact she was nervous, it was a reflex to want to reach down and close the paper gown she was wearing but she knew it would probably be a waste of time. When she was told this type of appointment was scheduled she asked Laki what it consisted of. She almost wished she didn't with how nervous she had been for the last two weeks but at least she knew to expect this to be uncomfortable. "Most girls stop growing by the time their your age, but there's still a possibility of growth until your twenty. It's unlikely you'll grow any taller, that's the first thing to stop. But things like your hips and your breast change with motherhood and sometimes these changes are permanent."

It was pretty hard to pay attention to what someone was saying when they kept jabbing you in the chest with their fingers. " It's very rare for someone as young as you to develop breast cancer, but its still important to give yourself regular self exams to check for any changes or problems in that area. Sometimes problems appear and they heal on their own, but if you're ever worried about anything you should always come to me or another doctor. I don't believe in lying to people or sugarcoating things. The next part of this is exam is going to be uncomfortable, but if you relax and hold still we will get through this a lot faster." She didn't know how was supposed to relax in this situation, she knew her aunt meant well and was doing her best to help her through this, but, she couldn't wait for it to be over. "Its normal to hate this sort of thing, its something that's supposed to be done yearly after the age of twenty-one, but a lot of women skip years in between. But its the best way to check for problems before they start, even if it is invasive."

"On record were finished with your exam, you can get dressed and leave any time you like. That's me acting as your doctor, but as your aunt and as someone who loves you I can see that your less than excited for this wedding, and I can recognize the fear in your eyes every time children are mentioned. I can't stop your wedding, and I can't change what's expected of you Leverette, but I can offer you a choice. There's a shot I can give you every ninety days that will prevent you from getting pregnant until you're ready. There's pills that do the same thing but this is more discreet and no one ever has to know about it." Levy didn't even have to think about her aunts offer, it was the closest thing to a silver lining as she could get.

"Please, give it to me."

* * *

Levy finally had a moment to herself, sometimes she welcomed the distraction, if she weren't by herself she didn't have enough time to be alone with the thoughts in her head. But today she almost missed it, it's what she wanted, to be able to sit and think for a little while. From dealing with Ultear, and then her aunt and then Wendy and Charla who wanted to play in her closet and get their hair braided by her. She felt guilty for locking the door and pretending to head to bed early when she really wanted to soak in the tub for a while. She used one of the fancy bath bombs she bought in town earlier in the summer and it turned her water so blue it almost matched the ocean. She piled her hair on top of her head before she got in, knowing that wetting her hair this time of night would soak her whole bed and she didn't have the patience to dry it. She was supposed to be feeling a lot of things, she was hiding in the bath so no one would see her cry. Sadness for her aunt and her mother who suffered at the hands at her father. Hatred towards her father for the monster he was while he was living. Relief that she didn't have to worry about being thrust into motherhood before she was ready but right now she didn't feel anything. Only a little annoyance from the shot her aunt gave her at the top of her butt, she had to stop herself from rubbing it all day but it was definitely a bit swollen.

It was a weird feeling wanting to cry but not being able to, she always felt better afterward. Instead of getting angry over another thing in her life she couldn't control she decided to do something about how prickly her legs were. She wasn't a fan of shaving her legs, she wore long dresses and stockings most days anyway so she didn't see the point of keeping them smooth all the time. Laki on the other hand would lose her mind every time she saw how bad Levy allowed them to get and would torture her by yanking the hair off with wax strips if she didn't keep up with them. She was feeling too lazy to get out of the water to shave them properly, she just kind of felt around and followed the curve of her leg up to her knee. She didn't know she knicked herself until she saw the blood, it was a shallow cut at the top of her knee, not a problem a bandage couldn't solve. The drops from her knee were starting to turn the water purple instead of blue. "I can't even get shaving right."

Levy knew she wasn't her aunt, and she wasn't her mother, she was exactly what her father told her she would be. Weak. "Not anymore." She held her breath and closed her eyes as she dug the blade into each wrist.


	15. Chapter 15

King Faust Fernandez I...

Cruel...

Cold...

King...

Father...

Paranoid...

Bastard!

Dead!

Some days Jellal stared at his portrait missing him, he wasn't much of a father, but he was still his father, and he was the only one he ever knew. Other days Jellal despised that sick son of a bitch with everything in his soul and he was glad his father dead. His father didn't want anything to do with him when he was younger, and when he was around ten his father took him under his wing and tried to teach him the best way to rule as a king. Jellal remembered his mother hugging him tightly every morning and night telling him that he was a good boy no matter what his father made him do, he didn't understand what she meant until the day his father forced him to punish his sister. He remembered Juvia was only nine, and his father was livid that he caught her outside of her room in her night clothes. She was completely covered up at the time, from her neck to her knees to her wrist but her father still claimed she was dressed inappropriately and only whore's walked around men like that, and his father wasn't going to raise any whore's. Jellal knew any punishment his father gave her would be far worse than anything he would do, so he slapped her before his father could. He could still remember the sting of his hand, and the red mark on his sisters face, but the worst part of it all was the hurt look in Juvia's eyes and the smile on his fathers face. Jellal had to pretend like he liked it, he could let his father know that he cried himself to sleep that night, that be brought Juvia flowers the next day, that he told her how sorry he was. That he loved her, and would never do it again.

Jellal didn't want to be anything like his father, but he knew he was. Over the years he could feel him self grow colder, angrier, heartless. But, he didn't know what he was supposed to do about it. Was it fate that history was repeating itself and Jellal found himself completing his fathers projects one after another, he found himself drinking his fathers wine and staring at this same portrait wondering if his legacy was going to be the same as his father. Will his people see him as cruel? As cold? As a heartless bastard who didn't care about his people? Would his children one say stand here one day thinking about what a monster he was? Would they even miss him? Jellal knew he had to do better, he had to be better, he just didn't know how. The first step was helping his people, and he needed money to do that, he wasn't poor, his kingdom was fine but the country wasn't. He knew people were out there starving, out there cursing his name. While he sat here in this big beautiful castle that looked like it was carved from snow, really made of marble and steel hundreds of years before he was even born.

Most of the time Jellal had to ask himself, would his mother be proud of what he's doing? The answer wasn't always what he wanted it to be, but the question alone was enough to make him second guess his actions enough to make a difference. But, even with his mother's virtues in place, he was still very much his father, still heartless, still cold, still paranoid. So paranoid that in his own home he had a body guard at each door, in his office that was five stories up, in the part of the castle that wasn't open to the public , and only the most senior members of his staff could even make it up the stairs with the proper identification. He knew he was paranoid, but with his father... With what happened to his father, he couldn't help but want to be careful. For himself, for his sisters, for their future, he had things to do, and he had to stay alive to accomplish them. "Oh, Jelly bean... Why do you always look so stressed?" Even with his paranoia, he was far too comfortable around his body , especially this one. He trusted her with his life, the same woman who held a knife to his throat once upon a time, the same woman who crawled her way into his bed in an attempt to unthaw the heart he didn't have. The same woman that was going to be severely punished, if she dared call him such a ridiculous nickname again.

"His majesty, King of the Ice Kingdom. Or Jellal, I'll even accept Jellal coming from you. But, if you dare refer to me as you just did, I will not hesitate to throw you in the dungeon and throw away the key." It was still strange to hear her giggle, but her laugh was infectious, when he first met her she was a broken woman. Angry, scheming, she almost seemed feral to him, but to her, he was the monster. He sat outside her cell for weeks listening to her opinion of him, how he was just some privileged piece of shit who was lucky enough to be born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He remembered laughing at some of the rumors he was hearing about himself, how he had a harem, how he enjoyed the company of men and asking her "Well, which one is it? Do I have a harem? Or do I like men? Perhaps I have a harem of men miss Ultear? If I didn't know better, I would say you are jealous. Now are you jealous of my supposed harem, or are you jealous of me having one? Maybe trying to kill me was a all a ruse to join my harem, maybe I should start one, maybe you can be the first remember." He remembered having to jump back from her cell to avoid her clawing his eyes out, he found enjoyment of annoying the beautiful assassin and over time they developed a friendship, and eventually something else they didn't have a name for.

"Jellal, you need a sense of humor. And a haircut, you're starting to look like your sisters. It's only a matter of time before some poor soul try's to woo you into running away with him. " In public she was the unforgiving bodyguard he needed her to be, he had seen her drop a threat before the man even got a word out without even getting a drop of blood on her uniform, but in private she could be sweet, flirty, almost playful at times. "One would think you would be in a much better mood, now that you've secured an alliance with Iron Kingdom of all places. Oh the Iron Kingdom, we should definitely visit there one day, maybe take a vacation once all this is over. Maybe get some sun, you are awfully pale, I would love to see you in a swimsuit, but I'm sure you'd be blinding." He couldn't help but laugh at that one, he couldn't exactly imagine himself on a beach, or leaving his kingdom for that matter, but it was a nice thought. Being just Jellal for a few days, would be a hell of a change from being a King and a brother when he was both asleep and awake. "So, are you going to keep playing Coy, or are you actually going to tell me what I want to know?"

As much as he wanted to ignore her, it was hard to when she was sitting on her desk. He had fallen for this trap more times than he cared to admit, she would distract him from his paperwork. He would try his best not to notice the way her already too short skirt hiked up on her thighs when she crossed her legs. The standard here was a hemline to the knees, but like many rules Ultear ignored that in favor of causing shock and awe around her. From the way she flipped the hair that was supposed to be pulled into a bun, but she always refused to as a middle finger to him and his rules. "Don't you have better things to do than trying to make me read your mind? Like I don't know, staying on your post? Guarding my body? Not sitting your ass on my important documents?" Jellal knew he only had moments before he decided he needed the distraction and his papers would end up on the floor before he can stop himself from giving into the temptation who went by the name Ultear. "Did you come in here to annoy me or seduce me? I really need to know how to react before I choose for myself, and you might not like which one you get."

"How much did you trade your darling sister for? It had to be a lot right, you adore her, there's no way you gave her up without a fight, unless they made it worth your while. So what was your while worth?" If there was one thing he knew about Ultear, it was the fact that the damn girl was money hungry. He would always catch her admiring all the "pretty things" as she called them around his office and bedroom when she thought he wasn't looking. She would play with the golden buttons on some of his nicer jackets and threaten to pick them off when he wasn't looking. He didn't understand three premise, money was money, and things were things but he never had to worry about such things or wonder where is next meal was coming from.

"So annoy me it is? Don't make it sound so dirty, this marriage alliance benefits Leverette more than anyone."

"Is that so? Does she know that? She was practically sobbing during her little appointment earlier, I assured her that all she had to do was look pretty and lie on her back like a good little girl."

"Don't speak to my sister that way. Until her wedding, she is still your princess and won't argue with her if she wants you punished."

"Will you be the one doing the punishing? Maybe I'll tease her more often, it'll be a win both ways. She'll grow a thicker skin, and I'll have you all to myself for a little while. You still haven't answered my question. What was your sister worth?"

"She's a princess, she's supposed to be dainty and damsel in distress like. Not all men are into a woman who will hold a knife to their throat without a second though. And If I tell you, will you leave me be? Or shall I have to fuck the manners you seem to be lacking into you? Sometimes I forget you were raised in a barn."

"By wolves actually, and your welcome to try that all you want to, it has yet to happen but it's nice to know you haven't thrown away all hope when it comes to me. So what was it, I hope you didn't let them get off too cheaply, or I'll be insulted on your sisters behalf? Please tell me it was at least a million? Two? Five? Am I getting warmer?"

"Ten million during the engagement agreement, another fifteen after the consummation of the marriage and an additional five for each child produced, so counting the heir and the spare that's a total of thirty-five million dollars over the next five years. Are those numbers to your liking Lady Ultear? Or should I have invited you to the negotiations where I kindly suggested that they should double their initial offer if they expected me to be interested? I was sure to mention that since that the lovely Leverette is my favorite sister, and it will nothing less than break my heart to see her go." Jellal wiped away a tear that wasn't there, even though he knew Ultear would see the gesture as him joking, he meant every word of that last sentence. From the way her jaw dropped to the corners of her mouth lifting slightly into a smile, he knew he told her exactly what she wanted to hear.

"This is why you're King. You knew exactly how to manipulate them into giving them what you wanted." Jellal didn't stop her when she climbed on to his lap and started pulling on the very gold buttons she was always admiring. If it was still the middle of the day, he would have told her to behave herself. But the sun set an hour ago and he knew it wasn't likely that he would get any visitors this time of day. He knew talking money with Ultear was the quickest way to turn her to putty into his hands, even if she didn't realize it herself. Just the word "million" was enough to take her from flirty to vulnerable, and he had no intention of denying himself from her, not like she was giving him much of a choice anyway. He almost laughed at what she whispered to him softly, before her teeth caught his ear and she started making quick work of her own clothes. It was rare that they actually made it to bed, or somewhere private enough for Jellal not to worry about being caught with his pants down. They were experts at just moving their clothing aside enough to get the job done without causing too much suspension. King or not it would be rather embarrassing being caught red handed with his body guard bent over his desk. "When you get the rest of the money, can we put the money in a pile, and you fuck me in it?"

What an indecent woman she was, but to him that was half of the appeal. "I suppose if you behave yourself that could be arranged."

* * *

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

"JELLAL!"

Ugh really? Jellal wanted to burry his face farther into the pillow and ignore whoever the hell was knocking on his door.

*BANG*

*BANG*

*BANG*

"JELLAL WAKE UP!"

*sigh* What was it? Midnight. Only one person would dream of knocking on his door at this time a night, and he was half tempted to take Ultear on her offer of killing said person.

*BANG*

"JELLAL!"

Where the hell was his room guard? And why was he allowing this to go on? Why did he allow it to happen in the first place? He was fired! That's the first thing he was going to do after dealing with the constant pain in his side that was currently knocking on his door.

"JELLAL! Please! Open up, it's important."

"I heard you the first time, what in the world would possibly possess you-... Laki what's wrong?" Laki was a lot of things, Jellal was convinced that the woman was completely insane, but he knew no one cared for his sister more than she did. One look at her face and he knew something was wrong, it wasn't uncommon for her to come annoy him with whatever she thought was wrong with Leverette during all hours of the day, but she never dared bother him this time of night. She looked like she just woke up herself and she seemed to be struggling with what she was trying to tell him because she was talking in circles and the things she did get out were too fast for him to catch properly. "LAKI! Slow down, and start from the beginning. Do you need to sit down? Would you like some tea?"

"No... No! NO! Jellal you don't understand we need to go now!" There weren't many where Jellal would let a woman pull him around by his wrist like he was a child, but between Laki's urgency and the death grip she had on him he allowed her to pull her up the stairs to the fourth floor. The woman's floor, the men's floor was the one below, but it was identical. The west wing was exclusively for guests, most of the time it was empty, but currently Charla was in the room closest to the center corridor and her room was directly above the one her father was staying in. The east wings were where him and his sisters have lived their whole life, his parent's had separate rooms and he never questioned it growing up but later he learned that parents normally roomed together. When his mother died his father put Juvia in her room, the suite at the end of the hall, the one identical to the one he took over when his father passed away. Down the hall on the girls floor his younger sisters rooms were right across from each other, they were identical but nowhere as lavish as his or Juvia's. Jellal offered Juvia's room to Leverette after she left but her sister turned it down hoping her sister would return home one day.

"Oh Jellal, something's wrong! Something has to be wrong, I'm not over reacting this time you have to believe me. Levy didn't show up for dinner, I know she always skips dinner. I thought she was just reading again or something so I brought food so we could eat together. But, when I got there she was in the bathroom, locked in the bathroom and she never locks the door. So I decided to wait for her, but after waiting an hour I guess I fell asleep and she still didn't come out, that was around nine, and now its twelve and she's still not out of the bathroom. And I can't get the door open, and she's not answering me, and there's water starting to come from under the door, and I didn't know what to do Jellal, so I came to get you, and I'm sorry I woke you up so late! You don't even have a proper shirt on... And I'm just so worried Jellal... Please do something..."

"Laki you need to calm down, your going to give yourself a panic attack and I don't need to be worrying about you too. Take a couple breaths, sit down, and pull yourself together and I'll get the door open." Jellal himself was admittedly starting to get worried, but one of them had to be rational, and that wasn't exactly Laki's strong suit. Jellal had a skeleton key that he kept around his neck, it opened every room and and lock in the castle, with the exception of his vault. But the key opened the hiding place to the key to the vault. He tried knocking first "Levy?" He didn't exactly want to barge into the bathroom with his sister in there, she was a woman now and needed her privacy in such situations. The carpet near her bathroom door was drenched and when he stepped on it it soaked his socks in a sensation he could only describe as gross and uncomfortable. "Levy, if you don't answer me, I'm coming in. And there are parts of you I would rather not see." He usually scolded people for calling her that, his father hated that nickname and would yell at him whenever he called his sister something so casual. Jellal picked the habit up of telling people that, "Her name is Princess Leverette, Levy is a fine people pay to the kingdom."

The whole room was flooded... With purple water for some reason. Jellal could hear the water running from the faucet and he made a mental note to check the bathroom below later to see if there was any water damage. "Levy..." He felt a moment of relief, his sister seemed to be sleeping, her eyes were closed and her head was resting on the side of the tub. That's when he noticed his sister was pale... Paler than usual... Too pale, and all the relief he felt a moment ago was knocked out of him when he noticed the blood. "No! No! NO! LEVY! LEVY ANSWER ME RIGHT NOW! This isn't funny..." In a normal situation Jellal would be uncomfortable with seeing his sister naked, touching her in such a situation would be unheard of. But it didn't even cross his mind when he pulled her from the water and into his arms. Her body was limp, picking her up was completely dead weight and between how much she weighed and the wet floor he knew it would be better to lay her than instead of risk dropping her and making things worse. "Levy... You're okay, you're going to be okay. You have to be okay, or I'll never forgive you. I'll never forgive myself!" He found a towel and laid it on top of her, he found a wash cloth to press against each wrist. "LAKI!" When the woman walked into the room at the call of her name Jellal couldn't blame her for being frozen. "Laki, I know you're freaking out right now, I am too. But I need you to go find a medic. Levy, needs you to bring her a doctor. She barely has a pulse..."

* * *

Jellal couldn't remember the last time he cried... He just remembered his father beating him for it. Jellal was a grown man, and grown men didn't cry, at least that's what his father taught him when he was growing. "Jellal men don't cry, if you want to cry so much go put on a dress and be weak like your mother." If he did cry as a child it was always in hiding, and when his father was away. He knew he cried when his mother died, but that was after his father drank himself asleep and Jellal knew it would be safe to do so. He had no tears for his father when he died... It was more like a sense of relief, like the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders for the first time in his life. Jellal couldn't clearly remember the last time he did cry, but he knew he cried almost all of last night. Seeing Levy, his Leverette like that last night was more than he could bare. He remembered when she was born, she was so tiny that his mother could fit her in dolls clothes. He remembered promising to protect her, reading her to sleep. Her standing on top of his feet and dancing with her at her first ball, teaching her how fence. He loved his sister, he loved her so much... At least he thought he did. How could he laugh? How could he joke about how he was making a profit off of her? How could he ignore her every time she wanted to bring up her engagement? How could he make her feel so alone that she... That she... "Jellal. Do you want some help?"

No he didn't, he needed to keep busy, he needed something to do. Being a King had a lot of perks, but it didn't get him in his sisters hospital room last night. Everyone else seemed afraid to tell him he was in the way, to let him know he was useless. But. His aunt didn't even bat an eye before kicking him out of his sisters room and telling him he was just going to make things worse. "Ultear leave me be." He was sure he was a mess, it took almost five bottles of bleach to clean his sisters blood off everything, which was traumatizing enough on its own. Not knowing how she was doing, made things so much worse. "I don't wish to be disturbed unless you have news on my sisters condition." As much as he wanted to be at his sisters side, he knew he was more useful here, Levy wouldn't want Wendy and Charla to see her room covered in blood. When he first started cleaning out her room, it looked like something out of a horror movie. Between scrubbing up blood and cleaning the blue dye out of her tub his clothes were stained red, blue, and purple. He knew he would have to throw these clothes away. Maybe even burn them, he didn't want any reminder of this night and he just wished the whole thing was over.

Levy wasn't the first sister he failed, he should have known better after Juvia. He was sure his sister Juvia hated him too, after he arranged her marriage and she refused to do it. He gave her an ultimatum, either go through with the marriage, or leave and she left the next day with out a word. He never told his other sisters what happened because he was angry, he didn't want them to do the same thing when he chose someone for them to marry. But Levy's reaction was worse, way worse and Jellal spent half the night making all sorts of promises she couldn't hear if she stayed alive. If his sister survived this, she was only going to be allowed one visitor and he knew Laki deserved the spot more than he ever did. Every time he thought about it, it made him want to puke, or maybe it was the fumes from the bleach making his stomach turn like this. He hoped it was his sister, if it was him worrying about Levy making him sick that meant he still had a heart, he wasn't so far gone that he was his father yet and he still had time to redeem himself and make things up to Levy, to call off this marriage and spend the rest of his days making it up to his sister. He still had time to find Juvia and make things right with her again too, they could be a family again. His heart would be whole, he would do what it took to make sure all three of his sisters had happy lives and he would dedicate the rest of his life to making sure no woman in his kingdom would feel like this again... If she just survived this, if Levy just stayed alive he would dedicate the rest of his life to fixing this.

"My King. I have news from the infirmary, Princess Leverette is stable and doing well, but they have plans to keep her sedated for the time being."


End file.
